Pornography - Fr. Steve Mondiek

I have been putting this subject off, but I think it needs to be addressed. Porn is real and it affects millions. Before you turn the page and say I don’t have a problem with porn, chances are, your spouse or child could be using it. It is readily available and private…who would know?

The Church speaks clearly about pornography because she realizes how it affects one’s relationship with God and others. We have seen how pornography can adversely affect the relationship between husband and wife, and how it corrupts young people’s views of healthy relationships and sexuality. We also need to see how it affects our relationship with God.

Here is what The Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say:

Pornography consists of removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants, since each becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials. CCC, 2354 (U.S. Catholic Conference, 1997).

God’s main goal is to be in communion with his creation. This means having a deep intimate relationship with each one of us. He loves us so much that he even created us in His image. However, when a person views pornography, he defiles that image. In Theology of the Body and Love and Responsibility, Pope Saint John Paul II wrote that the opposite of love is ‘use.’ Thus, when a man or woman views pornography, they are really using another person for their own base pleasure. This reduces sex to a recreational activity and the people in porn to mere commodities.

God made sex to be holy and to be shared between husband and wife. It is meant to be unitive and procreative. Because pornography is devoid of intimacy or relationship it perverts the conjugal act. This is why using pornography is a mortal sin. The people who use pornography and those who produce it are equally at fault here.

While the pleasure of pornography might be temporarily pleasing, one must ask him/herself, “What is going to bring lasting happiness?” An honest person will admit that pornography can never fulfill. Only a chaste life, lived for God, that honors His image and all His creation can provide lasting happiness in this life and the next. Choosing pornography over God, however, will only lead to loneliness and misery in this life and the next. A wise person will choose God over porn.

The Catholic Church understands that many people are addicted to pornography. She knows how damaging it is to individuals, marriages, and families. Moreover, she has much compassion for such people and wants to help them experience God’s love and healing. Because this is such an important issue, in 2015 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued an official document on pornography entitled Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography. The purpose of the document is to educate Catholics on the dangers of pornography and to give hope to those who are addicted, or affected by the addiction. It describes God’s great love and mercy for those wounded by pornography, and His desire to bring healing to all who are afflicted. The document states:

As pastors of the Catholic Church, we offer this statement to give a word of hope and healing to those who have been harmed by pornography and to raise awareness of its pervasiveness and harms. In the confessional and in our daily ministry and work with families, we have seen the corrosive damage caused by pornography—children whose innocence is stolen; men and women who feel great guilt and shame for viewing pornography occasionally or habitually; spouses who feel betrayed and traumatized; and men, women, and children exploited by the pornography industry. While the production and use of pornography has always been a problem, in recent years its impact has grown exponentially, in large part due to the internet and mobile technology. Some have even described it as a public health crisis. Everyone, in some way, is affected by increased pornography use in society. We all suffer negative consequences from its distorted view of the human person and sexuality. As bishops, we are called to proclaim anew the abundant mercy and healing of God found in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and through his Church (USCCB, 2015).

God and His Church are always ready to help those struggling with porn. The Church, the clergy, and trained personnel can help through support, prayer, sacraments, and spiritual direction. They may also be able to direct you to needed resources, such as counselors and recovery groups. The first step is to admit there is a problem and ask for help. Sometimes a qualified therapist is needed. God wants his children healed of this addiction, take the step! God bless.