Senator John McCain’s selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate is a definite home run. She is an outspoken pro-family and pro-life politician and will help strengthen the Republican ticket in this November’s election.

Palin is the mother of five children, including a son named Trig who has Down syndrome. Her statements last April about being the mother of a special needs child speaks volumes about her faith, values and character:

Trig is beautiful and already adored by us. We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives. We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed.

Contrast this with Senator Barack Obama’s troubling abortion stand and there is no doubt which way Christians must vote this November: McCain-Palin.

It’s good to see many of our bishops clamping down on politicians who claim to be Catholic, but publicly denounce the Church’s teachings on the issue of life.

Today, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement against Nancy Pelosi which said in part, “In the course of a “Meet the Press” interview on abortion and other public issues on August 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion.”

FoxNews.com reports:

Archbishop of Washington Chides Pelosi; Denver Archbishop Warns Biden to Skip Communion

Irked by pro-choice Democrats who tout their Catholicism, the archbishop of Washington is chiding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for misstating church history and the archbishop of Denver is warning vice presidential hopeful Joe Biden not to take Communion.

…

Over the weekend, Biden’s pro-choice views raised the ire of Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput.

“I presume that his integrity will lead him to refrain from presenting himself for communion, if he supports a false ‘right’ to abortion,” Chaput told The Associated Press.

As for Pelosi, Chaput called her “a gifted public servant of strong convictions and many professional skills. Regrettably, knowledge of Catholic history and teaching does not seem to be one of them.”

Chaput added that abortion “is always gravely evil, and so are the evasions employed to justify it.” During that 2004 presidential campaign, Chaput and a dozen other bishops called on Democratic nominee John Kerry to refrain from taking Communion. The church has also objected to former GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani taking Communion.

This past May, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius was reprimanded by Archbishop Joseph Naumann for her support of abortion:

Having made every effort to inform and to persuade Governor Sebelius and after consultation with Bishop Ron Gilmore (Dodge City), Bishop Paul Coakley (Salina) and Bishop Michael Jackels (Wichita), I wrote the governor last August requesting that she refrain from presenting herself for reception of the Eucharist until she had acknowledged the error of her past positions, made a worthy sacramental confession and taken the necessary steps for amendment of her life which would include a public repudiation of her previous efforts and actions in support of laws and policies sanctioning abortion.

…

I have not made lightly this request of Governor Sebelius, but only after much prayer and reflection. The spiritually lethal message, communicated by our governor, as well as many other high profile Catholics in public life, has been in effect: “The church’s teaching on abortion is optional!”

I reissue my request of the faithful of the archdiocese to pray for Governor Sebelius. I hope that my request of the governor, not to present herself for holy Communion, will provoke her to reconsider the serious spiritual and moral consequences of her past and present actions.

I applaud the bold stance being taken by these bishops. Hopefully, these politicians will recognize their errors, be reconciled to the Church, and properly use their public offices to uphold truth and life.

If you didn’t catch the TV show live this past Monday night, you need to hear the audio recording (mp3, 6.5MB) from EWTN’s The Journey Home.

This week’s guest was Dr. Scott Hahn, the well-known speaker and author. If you are unfamiliar with Scott Hahn’s story, he was once an anti-Catholic Protestant scholar, professor and pastor. But in the 1980s, his study of scripture led him to embrace the Catholic faith that he once staunchly rejected. In this Journey Home episode, Hahn does a magnificent job talking about his background and fielding several questions from viewers.

Hallmark, the nation’s largest greeting card company, has introduced same-sex wedding cards. According to the Associated Press story, “Hallmark says the move is a response to consumer demand, not any political pressure.” The article goes on to quote a Hallmark spokeswoman as saying, “It’s our goal to be as relevant as possible to as many people as we can.”

The same AP article notes that Hallmark’s largest competitor, American Greetings Corp., “has no plans to enter the market” with similarly targeted cards.

A friend who wishes to remain anonymous passed along her e-mail to Hallmark and the company’s response:

——————

Message to Hallmark:

I wanted to let you know that I am a loyal patron of Hallmark but am saddened to hear that your company is including a line of cards dedicated to same sex marriages. From what I read in the news article, Hallmark was not bowing to political pressure, but merely responding to the customer. Well, this customer does not appreciate this line of cards in your store. Please know that I will be shopping elsewhere for my cards, as I read that American Greetings has no plans to add a line such as this. Thank you.

——————

Response (Support Agent) - [to their credit, they responded in less than two hours]:

Thank you for your comment.

Beginning this summer, Hallmark’s selection of more than 200 wedding cards will include four cards that use specific language and images appropriate for same-sex wedding ceremonies or civil unions. Hallmark makes cards for all kinds of relationships and situations, and we have for years produced cards for relationships that might be defined as “non-traditional” - including heterosexual couples who are not married, those in mixed race or interfaith relationships and blended families - so people in each of these situations could find cards to meet their needs. It is our goal to be inclusive rather than exclusive so that our products appeal to the widest range of people who wish to communicate and connect with one another. Not every one of the more than 200 wedding cards we offer will be right for every relationship, but we want every consumer to be able to find one that is just right.

We understand that this is a sensitive issue for you and appreciate you letting us know your concerns.

Thanks,
Hallmark Customer Care
www.hallmark.com
1-800-HALLMARK

——————

It seems from the company’s response that they don’t really care about any moral ramifications of introducing this line of greeting cards. They really only care about seizing a market opportunity. If they can make a profit by selling this type of card, they will.

But at the same time, they appear to be trying to sneak this new line into stores “under the radar,” with no public announcement: a new product introduction press release is conspicuously absent from their corporate Current News page, at least at the time of this posting. Perhaps the secrecy is because they realize that a negative backlash from religious patrons — the kind that buy cards and gifts for real weddings, baptisms, confirmations, etc. — will hurt their business.

[FYI, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2357-2359) provides a concise overview of the Catholic Church's view on homosexuality]

Thanks to all who contributed to “bail me out of jail” today. Some funds are still trickling in, but I’ve been able to raise more than $1,200 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (not my full $2,400 goal, but not bad for my rookie performance). Your contributions were a big help! You can still contribute through the website at https://www.joinmda.org/midtownlockup2008/lcox. I think it will remain active for about 30 days, or at least through the end of the Jerry Lewis Telethon coming up on Labor Day weekend.

It was a great experience, including the part where I was “arrested” by a sheriff’s deputy and escorted from my workplace in a police car. I’ll post pictures this weekend (I seem to have lost my camera’s cable and can’t download the pictures…).

Thanks to “RZ” for sending along this gem:

Survivors of the Knights Templar suing the Catholic Church?:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93613600
What’s next?

Hmmmm. Actually, that gives me an idea. I think my great-great-great-etc.-grandfather invented the wheel, so maybe I can claim a trademark and start charging royalties.

It also brings to mind a news report from July about a man suing Bible publishers because the Bible criticizes his gay lifestyle. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be a way to create publicity to help sell his self-published book.

We live in some crazy times, my friends.

I’m being “locked up for good” this coming Thursday, August 21. And I need your help to raise bail!

This is all part of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s “Executive Lockup” fund raiser. My goal is to raise $2,400 for MDA to help local children and adults with one of the 43 neuromuscular diseases that the Muscular Dystrophy Association covers. Every amount helps. You can donate online at: https://www.joinmda.org/midtownlockup2008/lcox

I’ve raised about 25% of my goal so far. Donate if you are able. I’ll try to get photos of me in my “jail cell” Thursday and post them for you to see. Thanks in advance for your help!

I found last Thursday’s story on Florida Catholic to be quite inspiring: More Catholic doctors scrub contraceptive scripts. [Thanks to James H. at Opinionated Catholic for bringing it to my attention.]

The story focuses on Drs. Rebecca and Benjamin Peck in Ormond Beach, Florida, USA. In spite of being Catholic, they had prescribed contraceptives to patients in the past. However, they stopped doing so recently.

Last fall, the husband-and-wife team issued a letter to patients describing the side effects of using the pill, which include increased risk of breast and cervical cancer, heart disease, blood clots and death. The pill can also have an abortifacient effect because it does not keep sperm from meeting the egg. Though the principal way the pill prevents pregnancy is by preventing ovulation, it also thins a woman’s uterine lining, making it difficult to impossible for a fertilized egg to implant.

The reaction to the Peck’s decision has been positive:

About 90 percent of the Pecks’ 4,000 patients supported the doctors’ decision to stop prescribing contraception, the Pecks said. Heidi McCarthy, who has been a patient for more than two years, said she is honored to have Rebecca Peck as her doctor.

“In today’s politics of medicine, there are very, very few physicians who will stand up for what they believe in from an ethical standpoint; basically, they take the American Medical Association’s recommendations of everything,” McCarthy said. “(Rebecca Peck’s) decision was partly because of her religious beliefs but also because of her medical-ethical beliefs, and that is tantamount to the Hippocratic oath of first, do no harm.”

These doctors are taking their faith seriously and putting it into practice: something all of us need to do every day. Dr. Rebecca Peck said it well: “I think Catholics have to get back on the ball. God’s calling us all to live the truth. You’ve got to make a stand.”

Just when you thought the election season couldn’t get any more exciting, suddenly a new earth-shattering product is launched: Presidential Candidate Paper Dolls! Oh, I know what you’re thinking. How have we survived without these in the past? But more importantly, how will the stiff-necked rendition of John McCain and the casual-and-relaxed pose of Barack Obama impact the upcoming November election? Never have paper dolls been more important to the future of our nation.

[Special thanks to RZ at Savings Potpourri for this one!]

Rather than post some really long blog entries, I’ve created a separate section for Essays, which you can access from the top navigation bar. My first was just posted, entitled Catholic Evidence that Demands a Verdict. An excerpt:

What started in my teens as an interest in defending the Christian faith in general eventually led me to the conviction that the church Jesus founded was the Catholic Church, and to be fully Christian, one must be Catholic.