Hi, Thomas —

Thanks for the question.

At age 17, she's almost at the age range where she is responsible for her own decisions.

She is living in a very difficult, sex-saturated culture today; one that sways the youth away from Catholic Christian virtues.

An expression attributed (by some) to St. Francis tells us to evangelize the world, and when necessary, use words.

Be a loving father who is unmistakably Catholic and prayerful while living the sacramental life of the Church as often as you can.

• If she is still living under your roof, she has to obey your rules, which include renewing her covenant with the Lord every Sunday at Mass.
  
  
• If she isn't living under your roof, just strive to be a loving, faithful father and pray the Rosary for her on a daily basis.

I am not a parent but one of the toughest things for parents, I'm sure, is to accept their sons and daughters poor decisions as they grow into adulthood. As a disappointed father or mother, don't burn the bridge of communication between your children but at the same time, don't condone bad choices or behavior by rationalizing them as OK choices.

Organized religions can easily get a bad rap because of the larger number of people who believe in them — that's why they have to be organized. More people can translate into a higher probability of scandalous behavior within any one organized religion.

As Catholics, our reply is: we are a Church of sinners — many who are also striving to be saints, but just because a group of members are putting their sainthood on the back burner and scandalizing the Church, doesn't mean the Teachings of the Church have changed.

This is the key divine faith issue that no one can deny:

• Since 33 A.D. the Catholic Church has never changed Her Teachings.

Yes, She may have clarified them or proclaimed certain teachings as very important but She has never, and will never, change Her Teachings because they are the Lord Jesus' Teachings She is safeguarding.

If she has any questions, complaints, or issues with organized religion, specifically ours, tell her to visit our site and ask us her questions.

That's the best advice I can give.

Mike