California bishops launch 'end-of-life issues'
website as resource
SACRAMENTO --- The California Catholic Conference of Bishops has launched a website, www.EmbracingOurDying.com, designed as a resource for Catholics facing end-of-life issues. The site includes an overview of Catholic moral theology on death and dying, information on current medical and hospital practices, a summary of the state of the law and downloadable advance directives, facts about parish health ministry, hospice care and other parish-based services, and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ). The site also contains some of the pages in Spanish.

In 1999, a CCC statement noted, "proponents of the legalization of 'assisted suicide"' attempted to convince the public that such a law was needed to deal with thorny end-of-life issues. Although they were unsuccessful, the bishops were alarmed at the number of Catholics who were persuaded (according to the polls) that 'assisted suicide' ought to be an option."

Between 2000 and 2002, California bishops sponsored a series of educational symposiums for clergy and parish leadership entitled "Embracing Our Dying." That name was chosen "to reflect the fact that if those who are dying are embraced by their family and their community, they will not seek death, but will live their last days well, and then accept death when it comes," the CCC said.

The CCC first launched the website as a supplemental resource for those who attended the workshops. Now, four years later --- and following the defeat of another attempt to legalize "assisted suicide" in California --- the California bishops have restructured and re-launched the website as resource for anyone seeking the Church's perspective on death and dying, end-of-life issues and parish ministry.

Included among the documents available in downloadable format (pdf) on the website are bulletin inserts for use in parishes. These inserts advertise the availability of the website and give a brief overview of the information that can be accessed there.

House passes bill to protect pledge from federal court rulings
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- The U.S. House of Representatives July 19 passed the Pledge Protection Act sponsored by Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo. It bars federal courts from ruling on constitutional issues surrounding the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. "I am thankful for the support of the House Republican leadership displayed during the passage of the Pledge Protection Act," Akin said in a statement. The measure passed with a 260-167 vote, but The Associated Press reported it was not a certainty the Senate would take up its version of the measure. "Anything that can be done to protect the Pledge of Allegiance with the words 'under God' is a good thing," Pat Korten, spokesman for the Knights of Columbus, told Catholic News Service July 21. The Knights have been at the forefront of legal action to fight efforts to eliminate the words "under God" from the pledge. The fraternal organization was a part of the successful 1954 effort to persuade Congress to add the reference to the pledge.

Saudi Arabia said to take some steps to address religious extremism
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Saudi Arabia has made "real steps forward" on implementing policies against religious extremism that promote international religious tolerance, John V. Hanford III, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, said at a press briefing July 19. A specific focus of the briefing at the State Department was the revision of intolerant, extremist language in Saudi Arabian textbooks in accord with policies outlined by that country's recently developed Human Rights Commission. "This issue of religious practice and tolerance has been a high priority for the (Bush) administration. We are very pleased at the reform efforts that (Saudi Arabian) King Abdullah and his government are making on a number of different fronts. We feel that these efforts are sincere. Obviously implementation will be key," Hanford said. A report on "Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance" published this year by the Center for Religious Freedom in Washington gives some examples. In an eighth-grade textbook, Muslim students were instructed that "the apes are Jews, the keepers of the Sabbath; while the swine are the Christian infidels of the communion of Jesus."

Ignatius stops sale of Charlotte Church
works after singer's TV pilot
LONDON (CNS) --- The U.S. publishing company Ignatius Press has refused to sell any works by Welsh singer Charlotte Church after she called German-born Pope Benedict XVI a Nazi and mocked the Catholic Church. The directors of Ignatius Press said they were offended when the Welsh singer mocked the Catholic Church in the pilot of a proposed eight-part television chat show. Church, dubbed the "Voice of an Angel" before she turned her talents to popular music, also dressed up as a nun and pretended to hallucinate while eating "communion" wafers imprinted with smiling faces signifying the drug Ecstasy. She smashed open a statue of the Virgin Mary to reveal a can of hard cider inside, said she worshipped "St. Fortified Wine," and stuck chewing gum on a statue of the child Jesus. Ignatius Press announced that Church's products have been withdrawn from its Web site and catalogue.