Today 30,000 Roman Catholics gathered in St. Peter’s square in Rome to ask a kindly old celibate how he thinks people should manage their marriages.
I find myself remembering Catholic impotency trials of pre-revolutionary France and medieval England, where husbands were sometimes required to demonstrate virility in front of a jury composed of priests (and possibly the mother-in-law), and have their performances described in public record. The Church’s politically based meddling in marriage (their opposition to divorce has no basis in scripture) and system of ecclesiastic courts has wrought many a tragedy.
To give him credit, Pope Francis seemed to be doing his best to keep the conversation from getting too specific. You have to hope he sees the ridiculousness of it all.