THE TABLET, OCTOBER 31, 2005

THE CONSEQUENCES OF PORNOGRAPHY

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

For over 2,000 years, the Gospel has continually called Christians to evangelize and transform the culture in which we live by becoming holy, but we recognize there are obstacles to holiness. Today, an increase in material prosperity sometimes results in a spiritual poverty that can lead to a fixation on oneself to the detriment of one's relationships with a spouse, children, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and most importantly Almighty God. The multi-million- dollar pornography industry profits from this and reinforces a growing narcissism, or pre-occupation with self.

How can we define pornography? In 1986 the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography defined it as, "material that is sexually explicit and intended primarily for sexual arousal." At one time, pornography was sold in a limited number of locations; it was considered shameful to patronize such establishments. Now, we can find it even in our homes--- on the radio, television or computer.

At its core, pornography is a dagger driven into the heart of love. In his first encyclical, "Redemptor Hominis," the late Pope John Paul II, of happy memory, reminded us that "man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate in it." For the Christian, a human is created in the image and likeness of God; hence, sex is a participation in the communion of God and creation. The pornographer considers humans to be simply a more evolved animal and believes that pleasure is the only end of sex.

There are many adverse consequences due to the accessibility of pornography and the growth of this industry that prey on the human soul. Pornography is a corruption that causes complications and dissolutions of marriages. It is a symptom of the disordered understanding of freedom that pervades modern culture and threatens the foundations of the family and human dignity. Freedom, as described in the encyclical of John Paul II,­ "­Familiaris Consortio," is "conceived not as a capacity for realizing the truth of God's plan for marriage and the family, but as an autonomous power of self-affirmation, often against others for one's own selfish well-being."

How does pornography corrupt and complicate marriage? In his encyclical, "Humanae Vitae," Pope Paul VI tells us that the Church has consistently taught that through the "mutual gift of themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone," a husband and wife "develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives." Pornography impedes this participation in the divine life and sets up a false dichotomy between love and sex. It is said that some spouses--- a small number, I would hope--- will spend hours apart on the Internet in a virtual world of so-called "adult" chat rooms and Web sites, rather than spending time nurturing their relationship and pouring themselves out as a total self-gift, sharing aspirations, fears, joys, sorrows and struggles.

Moreover, the entertainment industry markets movies and programming to children that is rife with adult innuendo. Our modern culture is hypocritical when it claims to advocate for children and at the same time seeks to expose children and adolescents to thousands of pornographic depictions in movies, on television and radio, and via the Internet. Can any reasonable person deny that these images adversely affect their human formation? This atmosphere eats away at the souls of our children. It degrades their human dignity, frustrates and confuses development of genuine human relationships and frequently acts as an incubator for violence. Although it is primarily parents who must not abdicate their responsibility to closely monitor the viewing habits and Internet use of their young children and teenagers, communities must work together to assist parents by strengthening and enforcing anti-obscenity laws.

Perhaps the most unfortunate consequence of the explosion of pornography is the emergence of modern-day "slave trading." The pornographers' mentality views human beings not as persons "but as things," an object of trade, at the service of selfish interest and mere pleasure; the first victims of this mentality are women. As an advocate for migrant people, I have witnessed first-hand the tragedy of human trafficking. The practice of transporting girls and young women from Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa to work in houses of prostitution, online brothels, and the so-called adult movie industry can leave no doubt in anyone's mind that pornography has real human victims.

As a society and as a Church, we need to put out into the deep of ridding our culture of the terrible addiction of pornography. We must become more aware of the means available to curb its influence on our society.