<em>By Hugh Kerr</em>
The Vatican has made known that Pope Francis recently gave a condemnation of online pornography to a collection of priests and seminarians in Rome, calling soft pornography a temptation and warning that "the devil enters from there: it weakens the priestly heart”.
On Wednesday, the Vatican published a transcript that detailed the 86-year-old Pontiff’s comprehensive responses to a wide array of questions that were put to him on Monday by a collection of priests and seminarians currently studying in Rome. The Q and A covered a breadth of topics from reconciling science and faith to living with virtue despite personal failings.
Pope Francis responded to a question relating to how digital and social media should be best used to “share the joy of being Christians”. He suggested that it is healthier to limit ones exposure to the news and other external distractions, such as music, so as to have an increased focus on their spiritual work. He subsequently was drawn on to a more serious risk, stating: "on this [subject] there's also another thing, which you know well: digital pornography".
Pope Francis said, "Each of you think if you've had the experience or had the temptation of digital pornography, it's a vice that so many people have, so many laymen, so many lay women, and even priests and nuns," before clarifying, "I'm not just talking about criminal pornography like child abuse, where you see live cases of abuse: that's already degeneracy. But of the more 'normal' pornography".
The Pope warned, "Dear brothers, be careful of this. The pure heart, the heart that receives Jesus every day, cannot receive this pornographic information," before suggesting that his audience delete pornographic material from their phones “so you won’t have temptation in your hand”.
This is not the first time that Pope Francis has warned against the dangers of pornographic material during his tenure. As recently as June, he called it "a permanent attack on the dignity of men and women", arguing it should be declared a "threat to public health".
“Excuse me for going down to these details about pornography, but there is a reality: a reality that touches priests, seminarians, nuns, consecrated souls," he concluded.
<em>By Hugh Kerr</em>
The Vatican has made known that Pope Francis recently gave a condemnation of online pornography to a collection of priests and seminarians in Rome, calling soft pornography a temptation and warning that "the devil enters from there: it weakens the priestly heart”.
On Wednesday, the Vatican published a transcript that detailed the 86-year-old Pontiff’s comprehensive responses to a wide array of questions that were put to him on Monday by a collection of priests and seminarians currently studying in Rome. The Q and A covered a breadth of topics from reconciling science and faith to living with virtue despite personal failings.
Pope Francis responded to a question relating to how digital and social media should be best used to “share the joy of being Christians”. He suggested that it is healthier to limit ones exposure to the news and other external distractions, such as music, so as to have an increased focus on their spiritual work. He subsequently was drawn on to a more serious risk, stating: "on this [subject] there's also another thing, which you know well: digital pornography".
Pope Francis said, "Each of you think if you've had the experience or had the temptation of digital pornography, it's a vice that so many people have, so many laymen, so many lay women, and even priests and nuns," before clarifying, "I'm not just talking about criminal pornography like child abuse, where you see live cases of abuse: that's already degeneracy. But of the more 'normal' pornography".
The Pope warned, "Dear brothers, be careful of this. The pure heart, the heart that receives Jesus every day, cannot receive this pornographic information," before suggesting that his audience delete pornographic material from their phones “so you won’t have temptation in your hand”.
This is not the first time that Pope Francis has warned against the dangers of pornographic material during his tenure. As recently as June, he called it "a permanent attack on the dignity of men and women", arguing it should be declared a "threat to public health".
“Excuse me for going down to these details about pornography, but there is a reality: a reality that touches priests, seminarians, nuns, consecrated souls," he concluded.
