Smiling Pope Francis has brought about a vast change in the way the Catholic Church is regarded by its ordinary members. He has made it seem not just fit for human habitation, but warm and welcoming. It is becoming clear that he wants to see a similar shift in perception with regard to marriage. Thus when he conducted the wedding of 20 couples in Rome, they had been selected to make a point. Some had been cohabiting, a state which used to be called “living in sin”; some had been married before. Both kinds had children, who were made welcome at a ceremony that the Pope said was realistically representative of modern marriage. Many of the couples expressed surprise and delight that he was eager to preside at their wedding, because their perception of the Church was that it disap