Commonweal

About the author: Commonweal is a biweekly Catholic magazine.

A study found that teenagers who pledged to remain abstinent until marriage refrained from sexual intercourse for a substantially longer period than teens who did not vow to remain abstinent. Although convincing all teenagers to pledge to remain virgins until marriage is not universally effective, the abstinence movement should be encouraged. Providing information about contraception is not enough to reduce or delay teen sex; teenagers must be given strong moral guidelines about sex.

Strange things do happen. Senator Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, relented after years of obstructionism and allowed the United States to pay its back dues to the United Nations. If Helms can come to terms with the obvious good the UN represents, perhaps "progressive" educators and other advocates...