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U.S. Bishop Warns of Pornography’s Spiritual and Social Destruction

By Gudrun Schultz

ARLINGTON, Virginia, December 5, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pornography is “gravely sinful” and a “tremendous moral, social and spiritual” danger, Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde said in a pastoral letter this week.

“I remind all the faithful… that the use of pornography – i.e. its manufacture, distribution, sale or viewing – is gravely sinful. Those who engage in such activity with full knowledge and complete consent commit a mortal sin,” Bishop Loverde wrote.

“Such actions deprive them of sanctifying grace, destroy the life of Christ in their souls, and prevent them from receiving Holy Communion until they have received absolution through the Sacrament of Penance.”

Entitled Bought at a Price, the letter was written as a response to the growing impact of pornographic material on society and in particular on the family.

“In my forty years as a priest, I have seen the evil of pornography spread like a plague throughout our culture,“ Bishop Loverde wrote. “What was once the shameful and occasional vice of the few has become the mainstream entertainment for the many. “

“The industry preys on the most vulnerable: the poor, the abused and marginalized, and even children. This exploitation of the weak is gravely sinful. Whether need, confusion, or alienation leads men and women to become pornographic objects, their choice to do so certainly cannot be seen as free. Those who produce and distribute pornography leave a wide path of broken and devalued men and women in their wake.”

“More and more of these victims are younger, even children. When these, the most vulnerable and innocent of our society, become victims of the dehumanizing demands of an industry willing to destroy innocence for profit, it is an unspeakable act of violence.

“The most tragic and frightening victim of the scourge of pornography is the family. Although the “intimacy” promised by this vice is illusory and the happiness sought in its practice is transitory and destructive, the damage to the human relationships so necessary for the flourishing of the family is even more shockingly real and, in many cases, permanent.

“There cannot be a “temperate” use of pornography, just as there cannot be a “temperate” use of hatred or racism. To pose such a possibility is to accept giving in to evil one step at a time. Any seeming relief will be fleeting and the long-range consequences will make future resistance even more difficult, possibly escalating into an addiction.

“Many in society have accepted the false expectation that youth cannot control their natural desires and practice the virtue of chaste intimacy. This belief – that it is unpractical or even unnatural to avoid impurity and the indulgence in pornographic fantasy – is a lie and far from the mind of the Church. The acceptance of this lie of immaturity becomes the excuse for ignoring the vital importance of strengthening the virtues of modesty and chastity so central to your future happiness.

“We stand at a threshold – either we can continue to allow this plague to spread with fewer and fewer checks, or we can take concrete steps to uproot it in our lives, our families, our neighborhoods and our culture.

“We are a people called to share in the pure and noble vision of God and His creation. We are also a people whose future glory has been bought with the precious sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must never forget the high cost of this purchase.”

Read the full pastoral letter:
http://www.arlingtondiocese.org/offices/communications/documents/BoughtPrice_F.p...

See related LifeSiteNews coverage:

Pornography Addiction Destroying Lives, US Senate Told
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/nov/04111909.html

Large Increase in Porn DVD Sales Indicates Growing Pornography Addiction
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/dec/05121603.html

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