Porn Addiction: An Assault on Humanity

by CAPP-USA

Porn Undermines the Dignity of the Human Person

“Pornography is immoral and ultimately anti–social precisely because it is opposed to the truth about the human person, made in the image and likeness of God.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 2)

“The dramatic growth of pornography in the digital world is, in itself, most serious, the fruit of a general loss of the sense of human dignity.” (Pope Francis)

“By its very nature, pornography denies the genuine meaning of human sexuality“. (Pope St. John Paul II, 2)

“By reducing the body to an instrument for the gratification of the senses, pornography frustrates authentic moral growth and undermines the development of mature and healthy relationships. It leads inexorably to the exploitation of individuals“. (Pope St. John Paul II, 2)

Learn More about Human Dignity

Porn is a Structure of Sin

“‘Sin’ and ‘structures of sin’ are categories which are seldom applied to the situation of the contemporary world.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 36)

But let’s call the porn industry what it is: a structure of sin.

“The production of pornography has become a thriving industry and its diffusion is at times considered a legitimate expression of free speech, with the consequent debasement of individuals, particularly women.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 2)

Pornography addiction runs rampant in part due to moral and social decay, but it is also driven by economic influence and legal protection. Growing 10.4% per year between 2018 and 2023 the porn industry in the US now tops $1 billion. (IBIS)

It is precisely these structures that Catholic social teaching addresses.

Porn Addiction is Rooted in Alienation

“Man is alienated when he is alone, when he is detached from reality, when he stops thinking and believing in a foundation.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 53)

“When man does not recognize in himself and in others the value and grandeur of the human person, he effectively deprives himself of the possibility of benefiting from his humanity and of entering into that relationship of solidarity and communion with others for which God created him.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 41)

Basically, a person “is alienated if he refuses to transcend himself and to live the experience of self giving”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 41)

Find out More about Alienation

Is There Hope?

Armed with Catholic social teaching, we can build a “civilization of love“! (Congregation for Catholic Education, Foot Note, 35)

How? The Church calls us to “increase public concern” and “awareness of the need for decisive intervention by the authorities charged with the promotion of the common good.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 3)

And “To destroy such structures and replace them with more authentic forms of living in community is a task which demands courage and patience.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 38)

Pope Francis calls the porn industry and its exploitation nothing less than “crimes that need to be fought with intelligence and determination, through a broader cooperation among governments and law enforcement agencies”. (To Participants in the Congress on “Child Dignity in the Digital World”)

And “A similar concern…should become increasingly felt in the finance and the economy of the digital world.” (Pope Francis)

The Family

But it all starts with the family! “[A]s the primary cell of society the family must be the first champion of the battle against this evil.”

Learn More about the Importance of FAMILY