This month of October is a special month dedicated to our Blessed Mother as the month of the rosary. Mary, Our Lady of The Rosary, celebrated back on Oct. 7th, is a model of purity and reminds us that the power of prayer in Jesus can overcome anything including sins against purity. Those who struggle in this area can turn to the rosary to pray for greater purity through Mary’s strong intercession as she continues to point us and lead us ever closer to her son, Jesus.
Contrary to purity would be the sin of impurity. One powerful example of it is found through the use of internet pornography, a misuse of the martial act and a form of lust, which has reached pandemic proportions. According to Dr. Peter Kleponis, a licensed clinical therapist and assistant director of Comprehensive Counseling Services with a PhD from Conshohocken, PA, said that the number of “U.S. adults who regularly visit Internet pornography websites is 40 million.” A 2004 study from an internet traffic management company saw porn sites grow by 1,800% between 1998 and 2004. At the time, Nielsen/Net ratings estimated that about 34 million people visited adult websites every month (Source: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com).
Pornography is also one of the great scourges of our time that has raged through our country and the world to the point of addiction in many cases. Porn has affected not just the viewers but the actors and the spouses of the addicts and beyond. The sin of pornography doesn’t just affect the person but it also affects the whole Body of Christ just like a ripple effect from a dropped pebble in a body of water. According to the Barba-Proven Man Study, “one-third (33%) of men between the ages of 18 and 30 either think that they are addicted or are unsure if they are addicted to pornography” (Source: http://www.spiritdaily.com).
What really is pornography, and what does the Catholic Church have to say about it? The Catechism states: “Pornography consists in 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 (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials” ( Catechism #2354). Furthermore, “the political community has a duty to honor the family, to assist it, and to ensure especially…the protection of security and health, especially with respect to dangers like drugs, pornography, alcoholism, etc,” something we want to protect against for ourselves as well as our kids (Catechism # 2211). Finally, the Catechism states: “among the sins gravely contrary to chastity are masturbation, fornication, pornography, and homosexual practices” (# 2396).
It used to be the case that pornography was harder to come by since one had to take the initiative to view it either in theaters, video stores, or on magazine racks. But with the advent of the Internet and the evolution of technology, it makes it very easy to view porn virtually anywhere, not just on computers but on cell phones too. According to Dr. Kleponis, pornography can be characterized by the 5 A’s:
- Affordable: much pornography is free
- Accessible: just a click away
- Anonymous: easy to hide
- Accepted: many now openly admit to viewing pornography
- Aggressive: affects the brain immediately
Porn has had an evil effect on health, people no matter the gender, marriages, and young people. For example, in the U.S. Bishops pastoral response to pornography, “Create in Me A Clean Heart,” it was said that “viewing pornography…directly affects the brain’s reward pathways and has been noted to have a similar effect on the brain as cocaine does on a person with a drug addiction or as alcohol on a person with an alcohol addiction” (Source: #74, www.usccb.org).
While it may not come as a surprise that many men struggle with pornography addiction, women do too. Dr. Kleponis found that 17% of women struggle with pornography addiction, and 9.4 million women access adult websites each month. While we might think that non-Christian pagans struggle with it more than Christian men, think again. According to the Barba-Proven Men study, Christian men are watching pornography at work at the same rate as the national average (Source: http://www.spiritdaily.com).
Porn has done a tremendous amount of damage to marriages too. Dr. Kleponis discovered that porn use plays a significant role in 56% of all divorces! The American Sociological Association (ASA) did a study on the connection between porn use, marriage, and divorce, and “the study revealed non-religious men who started watching porn during marriage nearly doubled their chances of divorce from six percent to 12 percent. And non-religious women who started watching porn during marriage nearly tripled their chance of divorce from six percent to 16 percent. (Source: http://www.asanet.org).
How has porn impacted our young people? It’s had a devastating effect destroying their innocence. “Nearly three-quarters of young adults (71%) and half of teens (50%) come across what they consider to be porn at least once a month, whether they are seeking it or not” (Source: https://www.barna.com). Dr. Kleponis noted that 80% of 15 – 17 year olds have had multiple exposures to hard-core porn. The Barba-Proven Men Study showed that eight in ten (79%) men between the ages of 18 and 30 view pornography monthly (Source: http://www.spiritdaily.com). Another statistic from a 2016 article from Covenant Eyes entitled, “Parenting The Internet Generation” showed that “about 90% of boys and 70% of girls, ages 13 to 14, have reported accessing porn at least once” (Source: http://www.eurekaalert.org, 1 Bev Betkowski, “1 in 3 boys heavy porn users, study shows,” Feb. 23, 2007).
But there is help available, like there is with other addictions (i.e. AA – Alcoholics Anonymous and NA – Narcotics Anonymous). There is hope too. Our hope is rooted in Jesus Christ whom we turn to for mercy and forgiveness in the confessional. There is also hope in other practical areas to bring healing and freedom to those afflicted. After doing some research, below is a list of resources that can help those who struggle with pornography addiction or know someone who is battling against it.
St. Padre Pio used to call the rosary the weapon. Let us use the weapon of the rosary as well as Sacred Scripture, the holy name of Jesus, the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, and other weapons listed below as our world overcomes pornography victoriously with the help of Jesus Christ, who brings us hope, healing, freedom, and eternal life.
Here is a prayer for one to say before going online:
“Almighty and eternal God, who created us in Thine image and bade us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful, especially in the Divine person of Thine Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, that, through the intercession of Saint Isidore, Bishop and Doctor, during our journeys through the internet we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to Thee and treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. – by Fr. Zuhlsdorf. (Source: http://www.spiritdaily.com).
– Fr. Jeff
- Note: If you think the rosary has the power to overcome impurity, check out what the intercession of Our Lady did for the Christian West at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571!
RESOURCES:
ACCOUNTABILITY SOFTWARE:
* Covenant Eyes – www.covenanteyes.com
* X 3 Watch > https://www.xxxchurch.com -https://www.xxxchurch.com/x3watch
APPS:
* Ever Accountable – Accountability app > www.everaccountable.com
* Fight The New Drug – Fighter App> www.fightthenewdrug.org
* Victory App – (created by LifeTeen – lifeteen.com) > http://thevictoryapp.com
ARTICLES:
* “Create in Me A Clean Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography,” by U.S. Bishops. www.usccb.org
* Porn leaves men dissatisfied with real relationships, study finds
* The new celibacy? How porn may be destroying the impetus for sex
* What’s the most convincing argument against porn? Science.
BOOKS:
* Bible > Indirectly on pornography (Mt. 5:27-30, 18:9; Mk. 9:47; Eph. 6:10-17)
* Chester, Dr. Tim. Closing The Window
* Cusack, Michael John. Surfing for God
* Maltz, Wendy and Larry. The Porn Trap
* West, Christopher. Theology of The Body
* Wood, Steve. Breaking Free: 12 Steps to Sexual Purity for Men
* You Are Loved, a booklet from Catholic Answers > www.catholic.com
INTERNET FILTER:
K 9 Web Protection > http://www.k9webprotection.com
MOVIES:
* Fireproof – Official Trailer on Youtube (a movie starring Kirk Cameron)
PARENTS:
Good Pictures – Bad Pictures: a read-aloud picture book that helps parents address the issue with very young children.
Plunging Pornography – For the junior high and high school level, he recommends “Plunging Pornography,” a book to leave in the bathroom for teens to find that can serve as a conversation starter.
“Wonderfully Made! Babies” – Starting at the 4th grade level, Fr. Kilcawley recommends the book “Wonderfully Made! Babies” which puts the content within the context of theology of the body and the sacrament of marriage.
VIDEO:
“Taking Down Goliath,” by Matt Fraud. Youtube, 50 mins.
WEB:
* Chastity > www.chastity.com (Catholic Answers Chastity Outreach which includes a website by well- known Catholic speaker, Jason Evert)
* Fortify > www.fortifyprogram.org (a free and anonymous online recovery program for youth. It currently has over 35,000 users in over 155 countries)
* Integrity Restored > www.integrityrestored.com and http://peterkleponis.com (both feature Dr. Peter Kleponis)
* ReClaim – Sexual Health Recovery Program > www.reclaimsexualhealth.com
* Sexaholics Anonymous > https://www.sa.org
* United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) > Doctrine on Porn
WOMEN:
* Beggar’s Daughter (for women)
* The Porn Effect (for women and men) > www.theporneffect.com
Other Stats:
– from Dr. Peter Kleponis’ 2014 Presentations: “The Pornography Problem: Understanding The Pornography Epidemic in America,” “The Path of Internet Pornography Addiction,” “The Road to Recovery,” and “Protecting Families and Clergy from Pornography and The Problem of Narcissism” > All statistics used with permission:
* Every second $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography
* Every second 28,258 internet users are viewing pornography
* The pornography industry earns over $100 Billion every year, $13 Billion of which comes from the USA
* 4.2 million pornographic websites
* 420 million pornographic webpages
* 68 million/day pornographic search engine requests (Google), 25% of all search engine requests
* Promise Keeper men who viewed pornography in last week: 53%
* Christians who said pornography is a major problem in the home: 47%
* Adults admitting to Internet sexual addiction: 10%
* Breakdown of male/female visitors to pornography sites: 72% male – 28% female
* Women keeping their cyber activities secret: 70%
* Ratio of women to men favoring chat rooms: 2X
* Percentage of visitors to adult websites who are women: 1 in 3 visitors
* Women admitting to accessing pornography at work: 13%
* Average age of a child’s first exposure to internet pornography: 11
* The largest population of internet pornography users: 12 – 17 year olds (Sources: www.integrityrestored.com and http://peterkleponis.com).
Highlights of the Barba-Proven Men study:
* Approximately two-thirds (64%) of U.S. men view pornography at least monthly
* The number of Christian men viewing pornography virtually mirrors the national average
– Broken down by age:
* Eight in ten (79%) men between the ages of 18 and 30 view pornography monthly
* Two-thirds (67%) of men between the ages of 31 and 49 view pornography monthly
* One-half (49%) of men between the ages of 50 and 68 view pornography monthly
* Combined, 18% of all men either think that they are addicted or are unsure if they are addicted to pornography, which equates to 21 million men] (Source: http://www.spiritdaily.com):
Statistics from “Parenting The Internet Generation,” 2016, by Covenant Eyes: * 35% of boys reported viewing porn online “too many times to count.” See “1” below
(1 Bev Betkowski, “1 in 3 boys heavy porn users, study shows,” Eurekalert.org, Feb. 23, 2007. http://www.eurekalert.org).
* 70% of boys and nearly a quarter of girls say they have spent at least 30 consecutive minutes viewing Internet porn on at least one occasion. See “2” below
(2 Chiara Sabina, Janis Wolak, and David Finkelhor, “The nature and dynamics of Internet pornography exposure for youth,” CyberPsychology and Behavior Volume 11, (2008): 691-693.)
“In 2015 alone, the number of hours streamed from the site was double the amount of time human beings have populated the Earth, according to TIME Magazine” (Source: Article: “Not your grandpa’s porn – Has the Church caught up to the problem?” http://www.catholicnewsagency.com).
For Your Marriage.org > “Internet Porn by The Numbers”
Roman Catholic Man > “Our Lady of America: It’s High Time We Heed Her Call”
"Speak The Truth with Love," A Catholic Blog by Fr. Jeff Allan 
You have a lot of great information in this article! Thank you for bringing this to light and talking about the devastating effects of pornography for everyone involved. So many single people think it’s harmless but it sets them up for a failed marriage. The statistics are so devastating to see. Keep sharing the truth.
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