Not Just a Harmless Activity

By Ellen Gable Hrkach
July 4, 2010

Many years ago, pornography was delivered to a house in a brown package.  Now, it often makes its way into our homes through the internet and television.  Many children younger than six or seven are being exposed to hardcore pornography.  Some Catholic and Christians are becoming addicted to internet porn.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2354, condemns pornography saying “it perverts the conjugal act...offends against chastity...is a grave offense...and immerses all who are involved in the illusion of fantasy world.”

A few years ago, while at a Catholic function, I overheard someone say “Pornography use is fine within marriage, there’s nothing wrong with it.”  A priest I know once said that watching pornography is like putting a sewage pipe to your brain.

Another time, an acquaintance of ours tried to downplay the evils of pornography and told us that “evil is a pretty strong word to describe a victimless crime.”  Evil is an accurate word to describe pornography, which nowadays has become so rampant that it can invade your computer (and your eyes) without invitation.  And, contrary to popular opinion, pornography is not a victimless crime.  The families and spouses of those addicted are victims, not to mention the actors and others who might be forced to appear in such movies.

According to Robert Borys, author of Love, Marriage and Pornography, “68 percent of divorce cases involved one party meeting a new lover on the Internet. 56 percent involved one party having an obsessive interest in pornographic websites; 62 percent of attendees at the annual conference of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, said the internet had been a significant factor in the divorces they’d handled during the last year.”

Sex is meant to be the private renewal of a couple’s marriage vows, to create life, to bond and unite a couple and to signify selfless love.  Sex is neither meant to fulfill lustful passions nor to be a public display.

I recently read that pornography has the same effect on the brain as crack cocaine, which explains why so many men (and some women) are addicted.  For those who have become addicted, there are aids to overcoming this widespread addiction. Porn filters, like Covenant Eyes (http://www.covenanteyes.com/) and Wise Choice (http://www.wisechoice.net/) are just two of the many pornography filters available which can not only assist in keeping pornography from our children, it can help those who are addicted and drawn to the images.  

I don’t necessarily endorse all the ideologies of the following organizations, but some of these could be helpful:

Christian Alliance for Sexual Recovery www.helpandhope.org          
Sexaholics Anonymous, www.sa.org,
Focus on the Family www.pureintimacy.org                 

Pornography is not just a “harmless activity.”  It perverts the mind, it destroys innocence, it can become addictive and it can lead to marital breakups.   

copyright 2010 Ellen Gable Hrkach                    

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