What a flap! Another company falling prey and capitalizing on  "same-sex" union.  Too bad, I thought they promoted family values. - Victoria

HALLMARK SAYS "I DO" TO GAY MARRIAGE CARDS

Most states don't recognize gay marriage - but now Hallmark does.

The nation's largest greeting card company is rolling out same-sex wedding cards - featuring two tuxedos, overlapping hearts or intertwined flowers, with best wishes inside. "Two hearts. One promise," one says.

Hallmark added the cards after California joined Massachusetts as the only U.S. states with legal gay marriage. A handful of other states have recognized same-sex civil unions.

The language inside the cards is neutral, with no mention of wedding or marriage, making them also suitable for a commitment ceremony. Hallmark says the move is a response to consumer demand, not any political pressure.

Full story:  http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26328361/?GT1=43001

Pro-life advocates encouraged to sign petition against legislation.  - Thousands of Catholic faithful are expected to attend a prayer rally and march at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on Friday in protest of a proposed population policy. Some policy provisions would permit government funding for artificial birth control, while others would fully fund tubal ligations and vasectomies. The bill also proposes a non-mandatory "two child policy" and requires employers in collective bargaining agreements to fund contraceptives.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said in a statement that the rally and march will be a movement of Christian believers who oppose "immoral" policies. The event coincides with the fortieth anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae.

Attorney Jo Imbong, executive secretary of the CBCP Legal Office, said the bill would fully fund tubal ligations and vasectomies for indigent patients and others as part of PhilHealth benefits. She reported that the bill also defines hormonal contraceptives, intrauterine devices, and other contraceptives as "essential medicines."

It also proposes that taxpayer-funded Mobile Health Care Service vans provide birth control methods in all congressional districts.

Fenny Tatad, executive director of the Bishops-Legislators Caucus of the Philippines, criticized the bill's requirement that some employers provide contraceptives for employees and also its two-child policy.

"This and all the above-mentioned proposals are considered gross violations of the pro-family provisions of the Constitution and the universal right to health of citizens," Tatad said. "Public funds coming from Catholic taxpayers will fund these programs which is oppressive and in violation of their universal right to religious freedom and the freedom to live their faith in an environment that is free of coercion and harassment."

 To sign the Filipino Family Fund petition opposing the bills visit:
http://www.filipinofamilyfund.org/signthepetition/signthepet...

For the full story:  http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13321

Manila, Jul 22, 2008 / 02:40 am (CNA)

The Rt. Reverend Andrew Burnham, the Anglican Bishop of Ebbsfleet, has made public his plans to come into communion with the Roman Catholic Church and bring his flock with him. His move follows the Church of England's decision on Monday to allow women bishops to be ordained.

In a column published in the Catholic Herald, Bishop Burnham explains that the move is the result of seeing traditionalist Anglicans denied any sort of special provisions in the Monday vote on women being ordained bishops.

Reacting to the news of debate taking place on Monday, Bishop Burnham said in a message, "I was aware that, in York, my job description was being demolished almost as I spoke."

Bishop Burnham is one of three bishops in the Church in England that are officially called Provincial Episcopal Visitors but are more commonly known as "flying bishops."  These bishops oversee parishes that refuse to recognize women priests and now women bishops.

He also described the reasons that traditionalist Anglicans are leaving as "not motivated in the least by gender issues but by a keenness to pursue Catholic unity and truth."

"For them," the bishop said, "the decision of the Church of England to proceed to the ordination of women bishops without providing adequately for traditionalists renders the claims of the Church of England to be part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church shaky or simply untenable."

The General Synod that approved the ordination of women bishops is planning to draft a code of practice designed to accommodate those who won't accept women bishops, but Bishop Burnham said, "Codes of practice are shifting sands. The sacramental life of the Church must be built on rock."

"How could we trust a code of practice to deliver a workable ecclesiology if every suggestion we have made for our inclusion has been turned down flat?"

George Pitcher, the editor of The Daily Telegraph's religion section, described the Monday's synod vote, saying, "Make no mistake, the Anglo-Catholics were done over." The Synod, wrote Pitcher, is like a mafia movie "where the luckless are stabbed in the back while they're being hugged."

Speculation is circulating that Bishop Burnham's decision could trigger an exodus of traditionalists who believe they no longer have a place in the Church of England. When the Church decided to approve women priests in 1992, hundreds of clergy and laity flocked to Rome and 1,300 clergymen have threatened to leave over the recent approval of women bishops.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Bishop Burnham said he has not yet begun the process of his personal conversion because he is waiting for a formal response from the Vatican about the possibility of special provisions to allow his 120 parishes in the south of England to continue using their churches and possibly some Anglican prayers, if they convert.

Bishop Burnham has called for help from the Catholic Church and the Pope to help Anglo-Catholics cross the Tiber. "What we must humbly ask for now is for magnanimous gestures from our Catholic friends, especially from the Holy Father, who well understands our longing for unity, and from the hierarchy of England and Wales."

Damian Thompson, the editor-in-chief of the Catholic Herald and a lead writer for the newspaper, Daily Telegraph, reports that the Rt. Rev Keith Newton, Bishop of Richborough and Bishop Andrew Burnham both flew to Rome for discussions about joining the Catholic Church.

The situation now is quite different between Rome and traditionalist Anglicans due to Pope Benedict's desire to renew the sacredness of the liturgy and his openness to Anglo-Catholics, says Thompson.

Thompson also delivers a valuable history lesson for Catholics wondering why the Anglicans are asking for a deal to come into the Catholic Church en masse. He explains that "in the mid-1990s, after the Church of England ordained women priests, many Anglo-Catholics drew back from union with the Holy See because the Bishops of England and Wales were so unwelcoming, and because they were so depressed by the low standard of liturgy in our parishes."

The potential influx of Anglo-Catholics could bring many benefits to the Catholic Church, Thompson writes in his opinion column. "The treasures our new brethren will bring with them - a poetic and contemplative spirituality, glorious prayers, fine music - will permanently enrich the Catholic Church in England; they belong to us all."

Original story from CNA:  http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13187