Pope Francis warns clergy for the dangers of pornography

The head of the Vatican pointed out that "pure hearts that receive Jesus every day cannot receive pornographic information." He did so during a meeting with hundreds of seminarians studying in Rome, Catholic News Agency reports. "The devil enters from there; it weakens the priestly heart."

The Pope stressed the necessity of carefulness with pornographic material. "If you can delete it from your cell phone, do this so that you won't have the temptation at hand. And if you cannot delete it, protect yourself properly, so you do not have access to it", he advised the students, adding that he did not only talk about abusive pornography, such as sexual acts with children but about all kinds.

The problem of pornography is essential to highlight, the Pope explained, because "so many people, lay men, lay women and even priests and religious sisters" have it at hand.

Dignity

Public authorities should declare pornography as a threat to public health, the Pope propagated according to La Croix. He furthermore called the graphic images "a permanent attack on the dignity of men and women."

Officially, the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church forbids viewing pornography and calls it a "grave offence" that "immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world," "injures the dignity of its participants" and "perverts the act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other."