Who Knows Best?

Facts of Life

Parents who forbid their daughters to date older boys are wise, after all. A study published Aug. 19 by Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse shows that teen-age girls who associate with older boys are more likely to smoke, drink and use drugs. The survey of 1,000 teens also found that young people welcome their parents' guidance. Asked in the telephone survey what they wished they could “honestly discuss with parents at dinner,” 42% said dating and 30% said substance abuse.

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