My brother probably has a baby on the way. They think his wife is pregnant. I was talking to my mom today and she was saying that she is holding off telling my (very Catholic) grandmother about the pregnancy until it is confirmed by a physician.

Why?

Because my grandmother thinks of the potential pregnancy as if it's a real person and if the pregnancy turns out not to be true, she would mourn it as though she'd lost a real great-grandchild.

If I hadn't been sitting, I'd have fallen over on the floor.

This really doesn't improve my view of religious people. And while I know my grandmother is getting old and paranoid and forgetful, this is pure Catholic nonsense.