Who to confirm - that's the question.(when Catholics should receive the Confirmation sacrament; Special Report: The Sacraments, part 4)

If the sacraments were children, confirmation would be the troubled adolescent, burdened with a poor self-image and agonizing over what he ought to do with his life.

Last year 308,855 Catholics received the sacrament in the United States. According to experts interviewed, a handful were infants, some were 6 or 7 years old, a substantial group was about 12, the largest contingent was about 16 or 17 and some were adult converts. The disparity in age at reception had nothing to do with the availability of a confirming bishop but everything to do with fundamental confusion about…