A Calm Response to a Teen’s Tough Question – “What’s Wrong With It? (The Inner Life)

On The Inner Life, Patrick Conley introduced a call from Mark, a catechist walking with a mother and her almost‑13‑year‑old son in OCIA. The boy has begun using explicit material online in a compulsive way and, with no real religious background, is asking a blunt question: “What’s wrong with it?” Mark wants to answer in a way that is truthful, gentle, and age‑appropriate. Father Ryan Brady said a conversation like this calls for prudence and delicacy. In a culture that treats visual sexual content as harmless or even positive, he urged Mark to present a different picture: every person is meant to be received as a gift, not viewed as an object on a screen. “Living more simply” means removing media and habits that distract us from God and that can erode both our own dignity and that of others. To answer the deeper “why,” Father Ryan turned to St. Augustine’s insight that our hearts are restless until they rest in God. We often try to fill that restlessness with food, entertainment, or repeated viewing of explicit content, like forcing the wrong‑shaped piece into a puzzle. Only the love of the Lord truly fits the “God sized hole” in the human heart. Patrick finally pointed Mark and the boy’s mother toward a previous Inner Life episode on chastity with Father Allen Hoffa and toward Integrity Restored, a ministry that offers practical and spiritual help for those affected. The best way to listen to the Best of the Week is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It’s free, and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out here.