Pope Weighing in on Having Children
BALDWIN: Once again, comments from the Pope are raising some eyebrows just weeks after insisting Catholics do not need to, and I'm quoting him now, "breed like rabbits." It seems he has flipped the script claiming that not having kids, his quote "a selfish choice." Our go to guy in all things Vatican is Mr. John Allen, senior Vatican analyst with us here at CNN. And so, John, I'm confused. Which one does he want, no breeding like rabbits or have kids?</s>JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Hey, Brooke. I mean, listen. I admit, the Pope has been delivering so many sound bites on the subject recently. It is very hard to keep track. And you know, sometimes you feel like asking, will the real Pope Francis please stand up, right?</s>BALDWIN: Are you quoting him on MTV, John Allen?</s>ALLEN: It's true, it's true, OK? But if you drill down below the headlines, I think there is a kind of consistent message here. It's pretty clear what the Pope has been saying is that in general, large families are great and the Catholic Church wants to support people who make the choice to have large families. But at the same time, nobody is obligated to have them. If you can't have a lot of kids either for medical reasons or psychological or financial reasons or whatever, that it's not like you're failing god if you don't. And in fact, even though the church is opposed to artificial birth control, the church does have natural forms spacing births and eliminating births that are the probes and support. So I think that's what he's trying to say. They want to back up people who make the choice to have large families but they don't want to condemn anyone who is not capable of doing that, Brooke.</s>BALDWIN: Why is the Pope even going there and addressing births and, you know, child rearing at all?</s>ALLEN: Well, fundamentally because he thinks the family is a big deal. I mean, bear in mind this is a Pope who has decided to convene not one, but two, summits of catholic bishops, what the catholic church called a Synod (ph) on issues related to the family. He had one last October, he's having one this October. The family is one of the topics he comes at again and again and again. Fundamentally, Brooke, I think it's because he believes that the family is one of the most important cells of society, but for a society to be healthy, its families have to be healthy. And he wants people to understand that the Catholic Church is trying to get out a pro-family message. That is, that the church he wants to lead is a church that is trying to support people who are trying to raise healthy families. Now, within that, I think what he's trying to say is that those people who have the capacity to have large families, to have multiple kids, that's even better and the church wants to try to support that in every way it can, but he also wants to get out a message of compassion for people who are not able to make that choice.</s>BALDWIN: Listen, I love sound bites and quotes in the headlines because it means I get to talk about the Pope and I get to talk to you, John Allen. Will the real Pope Francis please stand up? I think you just made my day. John Allen in Rome tonight. John, thank you.</s>ALLEN: You bet.</s>BALDWIN: Next, the world of online dating can be brutal. And sometimes you have to hear the stories to believe them.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we heard a conversation about restaurant and I said have you been here? And he said well, I haven't been to eat there but I have been through their dumpster. What?</s>BALDWIN: Say what? Hear the rest of that story and a couple others right after this.