Pornography, a Death Trap, Part III of Six...
Bishop Robert Finn’s interview with Zenit news agency is continued here. He is the Bishop of Kansas City, Missouri.
Q: Your pastoral letter cites some startling statistics about pornography's effects. Have the Christian faithful lost the sense that pornography is a sin?
Bishop Finn: Our culture dismisses or ignores responsibility for sexual sins and many other sins. The Popes of the last several generations have lamented the loss of the sense of sin. I believe there is still great shame in many people when they have used pornography. Children seem not to want their parents to know what they are doing when they view pornography: In a way this is good.
Some will joke about this, belittling it as "Catholic guilt." It is rather the vestige of good conscience. We have to strengthen and affirm this. Just as important, we have to positively build the virtues of purity, chastity, modesty and temperance. We have to try to move hearts to see what is beautiful in our sexuality and human personhood. If we do this, we will be inclined to use more energy to protect it.
Faithful spouses want to protect their husbands or wives. Parents love and value their children and will take heroic measures to protect them from observed dangers. This same power of personal love must become the driving force that leads us away from the human exploitation which is pornography.
To be continued next week
Fr. Stanley
