Recently I was speaking to a bishop in another state who was lamenting the necessary dismissal of one of his seminarians because of an addiction to pornography on the Internet.

The young man was raised in a good family and was exemplary in his behavior. However, he was honest enough to tell the bishop that despite all the safeguards at the seminary regarding Internet use, he managed to bypass them, and had been viewing Internet pornography even before entering the seminary.

He admitted to the bishop that after viewing human beings as pornographic objects for so long, he was beginning to lose a sense of empathy for people. He could no longer muster as much feeling as he previously had for other human beings in difficult or tragic situations.

Addiction to pornography is reaching epidemic proportions:
• In 2006 it was a $97 billion industry worldwide, with more revenue than all the top technology companies combined.

• $13.3 billion of this revenue was in the United States.

• There are 420 million pornographic Web pages on the Internet, of which 89 percent are U.S. based.

• 40 million U.S. adults visit pornographic Web sites regularly.

• Even more disturbing, children age 12 to 17 are the largest group of consumers of online pornography. Ninety percent of 8- to 16-year-olds are estimated to have viewed porn online.

• One estimate puts the number of churchgoing men who are porn users at 50 percent. Another study found that one in six women is struggling with a porn addiction.

These statistics are from a very helpful article titled Pornography: What’s the Problem? written by Mark J. Houck and published by our United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It is meant as a resource for this year’s observance in October of “Respect Life Sunday.” The article is available on the USCCB Web site, and I highly recommend it.

The virtue that governs human sexuality is the virtue of chastity, to which every person is called in his or her state of life. According to the Catechism, chastity means “the successful integration of sexuality within the person.” (no. 2337) It integrates bodily sexuality with our spiritual nature. It calls for self-discipline and leads to internal freedom, so that sexual desires can be ordered to the total gift of self either in marriage or in celibacy. Together with masturbation, fornication, and homosexual practices, pornography is “among the sins gravely contrary to chastity.” (no. 2396)

Not only is pornography a sin against chastity, but also against the dignity of the human person, both the person who views it and the persons whose bodies are exploited to produce it. This is especially horrific when it involves the production of child pornography.

Exploitation and trafficking in human beings, especially women and children, is by all accounts a huge global phenomenon, and those who indulge in pornography contribute significantly to this problem. In the words of Mark Houck: “Everyone involved in the pornography industry — whether its production, distribution, sale or use — cooperates and, to some degree, makes possible this debasement of others because sexuality is reduced to a demeaning source of entertainment and even profit.”

There are other serious consequences as well.

Remember what I wrote earlier about the now ex-seminarian who told the bishop of his diminished empathy for other people as a result of constantly viewing human beings as impersonal objects of his own isolated gratification.

Pornography creates the “illusion of a fantasy world” (CCC, no. 2354) in which young males are conditioned to value women based on the airbrushed images they see in porn.

Pornography is also destructive of marriage. Spouses who habituate themselves to the “perfect” bodies of porn and its perverse acts and become accustomed to “satisfaction on demand,” may, as Mr. Houck says “lose the ability to relate on a personal and intimate level with the real person of his or her spouse.”

Finally, there is the harsh reality of addiction. Statistics and the testimony of experts in the field of sexual addiction suggest pornography is the foremost addiction in the world today due to its pervasiveness and its growing level of acceptance. And because of its availability, explicitness and secrecy, online pornography is the most addictive of all.

Perhaps the most urgent conclusion to be drawn from all this is the need parents have to protect their children from pornography, especially on the Internet. In the words of Pope Benedict: “Children deserve to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human relationships. They should be spared the degrading manifestations and the crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today. They have a right to be educated in authentic moral values rooted in the dignity of the human person.” (April 16, 2008)

I would like to conclude with a summary of some helpful advice Mr. Houck offers to individuals who use pornography. These steps encompass both behavioral and spiritual remedies:

1. Decide to get well, and stop viewing all forms of pornography.

2. Remove all sources of temptation.

3. Make whatever changes are necessary in your lifestyle to avoid occasions of sin.

4. Become familiar with how addictions develop.

5. Find a support group or network of solid individuals who can help you.

6. Go to confession and receive the Eucharist frequently.

7. Develop a daily prayer life.

8. Seek education and formation in the virtues.

9. Practice patience and perseverance.

10. Replace the images and behaviors of the past with acts of love.

May we all be vigilant in working and praying to combat pornography and to help its victims.

    +Most Reverend Leonard P. Blair

      Bishop of Toledo