TheNuze.com

It was announced on Tuesday that the Vatican has reached an agreement with the strategic partnership of Hallmark and Disney regarding the future of Valentine's Day after years of legal wrangling held up a hostile take-over of the holiday by the American corporate giants.  The agreement stipulates that Hallmark and Disney will assume full control of the holiday in North America and Britain though the Vatican will continue to receive a 20% royalty on all merchandise that doesn't specifically feature Disney or Pixar characters.  The Catholic Church will retain control in all other parts of the world where the holiday will continue to be known as "St. Valentine's Day" unlike North America and Britain where it will henceforth be a strictly secular holiday and will officially be known only as "Valentine's Day" or "Hallmark and Disney present Valentine's Day".  The agreement also clears the way for Hallmark and Disney to finally enter into a Valentine-oriented joint merchandising deal with Trojan similar to the ones that they already have with M&M/Mars and Kay Jewelers.