The leader of an Ohio pro-marriage group is pushing the Catholic church to put the screws to Catholics who stray from their marriages.

She cites an example of a Virginia man who cheated on his wife and then left her and their seven children, moving in with "the other woman" who got pregnant with his child. Among the provisions of the couple's divorce, the mother is not to tell the children who is "to blame" for the divorce. Both parents are to jointly make decisions about the children's moral instruction. The parents have a joint custody arrangement, which this activist finds objectionable, because the father is now living with "the other woman."

There are a few other points she makes, generally saying that the provisions of the divorce agreement are contradictory with Canon Law. I think the point this activist is trying to make is that when people choose to live their lives as part of the church, they can't just adhere to the parts they find convenient. She's basically saying that since this guy called himself a Catholic and entered his marriage that way, he should be required to live up to everything involved in the faith.

The problem, of course, is that it's not very practical. To be sure, it absolutely sucks that this guy ran out on his family. If I were his ex-wife I'm not sure I'd ever want my children to see him again. But that's easier said than done, as we all know. It's an interesting religious and legal debate, but at the end of the day, there are real people — real children — involved here. Even if the mother violates all the provisions of their divorce — even if she tells the kids, "your dad is an asshole who ran off with a 21-year old and knocked her up" — it's still not going to keep those kids from wanting to be with their daddy.

And maybe that's the only provision anyone should be thinking about.

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