Learning in Utero

Babies are attuned to their native language.

Science Daily reported in January that "newborns are much more attuned to the sounds of their native language than first thought. In fact, these linguistic whizzes can pick up on distinctive sounds of their mother tongue while in utero, a new study has concluded."

"We have known for over 30 years that we begin learning prenatally about voices by listening to the sound of our mother talking," said Christine Moon, a professor of psychology at Pacific Lutheran University.

"This is the first study that shows we learn about the particular speech sounds of our mother’s language before we are born. This study moves the measurable result of experience with individual speech sounds from 6 months of age to before birth."

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023.

Four German Bishops Resist Push to Install Permanent ‘Synodal Council’

Given the Vatican’s repeated interventions against the German process, the bishops said they would instead look to the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Meanwhile, on Monday, German diocesan bishops approved the statutes for a synodal committee; and there are reports that the synodal committee will meet again in June.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis