Merzouk’s killing blew the lid off years of simmering resentment because of the police treatment of black and Arab youth, the ghettoization of immigrants and their descendants and the general hopelessness among black and Arab youth who feel like second-class citizens in France.

Pope Francis will travel to Portugal for World Youth Day in the first week of August and include a stop at the popular Marian shrine in Fatima, the Vatican confirmed.

Readers respond to Sherry Antonetti, who wrote about the challenges she faces as a mother when taking her teenagers to Mass. Many readers had similar experiences.

In a video message, Pope Francis told young people going to World Youth Day in August should consult their grandparents on how to prepare.

I hope their belief will deepen. And I hope that my fellow Catholics in the pews will demonstrate that the wider church wants them there too.

Kolbe Academy in Bath, Pa., was the only Catholic recovery school in the United States. It is closing its doors because it could not find enough students like Pete, who said he had hit rock bottom and wanted to get sober.