Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

We need to stop pornography, now
Denver Catholic Register ^ | March 21st, 2007 | Archbishop Charles Chaput

Posted on 03/21/2007 9:14:58 AM PDT by Frank Sheed

A friend recently quipped to me that if Americans were as good at the “war on terror” as we are in our “war on common sense,” the world would be a much safer place. He was talking about our country’s increasingly confused attitudes toward sex.

Last week offered a good example. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, said that “I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe the United States is well-served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way.”

Note that Pace did not say that, “homosexual persons are evil.” He said that homosexual acts are wrong. And of course he’s right. We might question the general’s choice to comment in the context he did, but not his content. He simply stated the Western moral tradition. We should respect his courage for saying it. Every human being has an inalienable dignity as an image of God. But as part of that dignity, we also have free will, and our choices — our behaviors — create wholeness or havoc around us, depending on their moral content.

Our sexual behavior is never merely a “private” matter. Human sexuality is deeply linked to issues of identity, fertility and new life. Our sexual behavior always has social implications because it directly or indirectly impacts others. Therefore it helps shape the wider culture. This is not a uniquely Christian point of view. Most Americans clearly agree with Gen. Pace. The only thing strange about his remarks was the theatrical wave of shock they generated from critics. In fact, with the good exception of Sen. Sam Brownback and some others, many members of Congress scrambled to criticize Gen. Pace — despite the moral beliefs of the people who elected them.

The bickering over Gen. Pace is just an icon of wider problems. The sexual confusion at the top of U.S. society now has an echo in every corner of American life. Sexually transmitted disease, child sexual abuse, adult Internet predators, divorce, cohabitation and nearly every other indicator of a dysfunctional society stand at epidemic levels. But very few people want to name the biggest single environmental crisis we face: a multi-billion dollar pornography industry that pours garbage into our homes every day through the Web and other media.

Forty years ago, when steel mills pumped hundreds of tons of toxic waste each week into the Great Lakes — literally “killing” Lake Erie and damaging the health of tens of thousands of families — citizens got organized. They forced the mills to clean up or shut down. We need to do the same today. Citizens need to stop the pornography industry now — not out of some kind of Victorian prudery, but because pornography poisons the human heart, imagination and soul just as those steel mills once poisoned our air and water, only worse.

Pornography is never “innocent entertainment,” no matter how private it might seem. It turns human beings into objects. It coarsens our appetites. It darkens our ability to see real human beauty. It creates impossible expectations about sexual intimacy. It kills enduring romance and friendship between the sexes. And ultimately it’s a lie and a cheat. Pornography is a cheap, quick, empty copy of the real thing — the real joy of sexual intimacy shared by a man and woman who have joined their lives in a loving marriage.

In recent months, two Catholic bishops have begun some extraordinary work against pornography in their Midwest dioceses: Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., and Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kan.

Bishop Finn’s excellent pastoral letter, “Blessed Are the Pure in Heart: The Dignity of the Human Person and the Dangers of Pornography,” has a wealth of good information about the scope of pornography, the damage it does and many practical tips to fighting it in our homes. Archbishop Naumann’s anti-pornography initiative, “As for Me and My House, We Will Serve the Lord,” includes a DVD and workbook with valuable resources for fighting pornography, teaching chastity and wholesome sexuality, and helping others who have been hurt by pornography addiction.

We can’t do much to fix the sexual confusion at the top of our society, beyond writing to our elected officials and demanding candidates who will advance our convictions when the time comes to vote. But we can do a lot about the poison in our homes and local communities. Pornography is poison. It should be controlled like any other toxic waste. And don’t be fooled. This isn’t “censorship.” It’s a matter of public health and common sense.

Bishop Finn’s pastoral letter can be found online at www.diocese-kcsj.org; click on “Bishop,” then on the pastoral letter. For information on Archbishop Naumann’s anti-pornography initiative, contact the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kan., at 913-721-1097.


TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; Current Events; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: culturalsuicide; generalpace; immorality; moralabsolutes; moraldecline; porn; pornography
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 201 next last
Archbishop defends the fight against pornography now going on and also defends General Pace and his comments. An excellent read!
1 posted on 03/21/2007 9:15:01 AM PDT by Frank Sheed
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Frank Sheed

bookmark


2 posted on 03/21/2007 9:16:13 AM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: NYer; narses; Salvation; sandyeggo; Mad Dawg; franky1; Coleus
Cultural relativism slam by Archbishop Chaput!
3 posted on 03/21/2007 9:17:02 AM PDT by Frank Sheed ("Shakespeare the Papist" by Fr. Peter Milward, S.J.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Frank Sheed
Pornography is poison. It should be controlled like any other toxic waste. And don’t be fooled. This isn’t “censorship.” It’s a matter of public health and common sense.

I forsee yet another attempted abuse of the Commerce Clause in the offing.

4 posted on 03/21/2007 9:21:11 AM PDT by tacticalogic ("Oh bother!" said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Frank Sheed

Our priest keeps putting this in his homilies and writings. He is fighting.

We need to follow!


5 posted on 03/21/2007 9:25:44 AM PDT by Salvation (?With God all things are possible.?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Frank Sheed
Have fun regulating supply and demand.

Many have tried. All have failed.

6 posted on 03/21/2007 9:26:40 AM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Frank Sheed

Despite this great commentary by the Archbishop, the horse is way way WAY out of the barn on pornography. And I wouldn't compare it to dumping toxic waste in Lake Erie, because a toxic Lake Erie made people feel bad; toxic pornography makes people feel good (at least in the short term). In our "feel good" society, even those who THINK pornography is bad, tend to fall into the trap of moral relativism. I wish I wasn't so pessimistic, but there is so much money in that industry, and pornogrpahy touches so many OTHER industries (whether it soft-core Maxim or hard core XXX), it would take an apocalyptic change in society's attitude towards sex to build up any momentum against the industry.


7 posted on 03/21/2007 9:28:56 AM PDT by Rutles4Ever (Ubi Petrus, ibi ecclesia, et ubi ecclesia vita eterna)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Frank Sheed

Even my liberal soc professor admitted that porn is harmful on many levels and strong family unit is essential for society.


8 posted on 03/21/2007 9:30:28 AM PDT by Dante3
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Frank Sheed

i.e., with the state of our society, it's too late to fight "industries", but it's never too late to save our friends and loved ones from this pit of death.


9 posted on 03/21/2007 9:32:44 AM PDT by Rutles4Ever (Ubi Petrus, ibi ecclesia, et ubi ecclesia vita eterna)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

Good for the ping list.


10 posted on 03/21/2007 9:32:55 AM PDT by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Frank Sheed

At one time most police departments had a division or department called the "Moral Squad". They were involved in controlling, raiding and arresting individuals who were in pornography shops, drug establishments, prostitution.

It was funny how the drug paraphernalia was taken and burned immediately after a trial while porn films passed through the precinct so the cops could see them before turning them into the evidence room. No one knew where the films went after the trial.

The addiction to Porn has to be many more times worse than drugs. Many more addicts.


11 posted on 03/21/2007 9:45:32 AM PDT by franky1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
Have fun regulating supply and demand. Many have tried. All have failed.

The war on drugs will be won long long before the war on pornography.

12 posted on 03/21/2007 10:10:17 AM PDT by HarmlessLovableFuzzball
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Rutles4Ever
"Despite this great commentary by the Archbishop, the horse is way way WAY out of the barn on pornography. And I wouldn't compare it to dumping toxic waste in Lake Erie, because a toxic Lake Erie made people feel bad; toxic pornography makes people feel good (at least in the short term). In our "feel good" society, even those who THINK pornography is bad, tend to fall into the trap of moral relativism. I wish I wasn't so pessimistic, but there is so much money in that industry, and pornogrpahy touches so many OTHER industries (whether it soft-core Maxim or hard core XXX), it would take an apocalyptic change in society's attitude towards sex to build up any momentum against the industry."

Agreed.

13 posted on 03/21/2007 10:11:45 AM PDT by EnigmaticAnomaly ("Political Correctness: The forced tolerance of all sin")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Frank Sheed
Pornography is never “innocent entertainment,” no matter how private it might seem. It turns human beings into objects. It coarsens our appetites. It darkens our ability to see real human beauty. It creates impossible expectations about sexual intimacy. It kills enduring romance and friendship between the sexes. And ultimately it’s a lie and a cheat. Pornography is a cheap, quick, empty copy of the real thing — the real joy of sexual intimacy shared by a man and woman who have joined their lives in a loving marriage.

. . . about which a celibate priest knows exactly jack squat. Anyone else see the irony in looking to men who have pledged to deny themselves one of humanity's most basic urges---the sexual impulse---for guidance on sexual matters?

14 posted on 03/21/2007 10:16:36 AM PDT by Hemingway's Ghost (Spirit of '75)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Frank Sheed

Pornography is as old as humanity itself. Without draconian measures it will remain with us.
What I fear from the anti-porn people is their definition of porn. Some have even labeled classic literature and art as “porn”.


15 posted on 03/21/2007 10:17:03 AM PDT by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HarmlessLovableFuzzball

Don't be so pessimistic. There are many ways to fight porn.


16 posted on 03/21/2007 10:17:54 AM PDT by Dante3
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Frank Sheed

Well, this is fun. We've tried the "War on Immorality" many times, and that's just in American history. I hate to keep using the Prohibition example, but it fits, when you try to legislatively choke off the supply for a product for which there is such a high demand, as admitted by the good archbishop when he called porn a multi-billion dollar industry. Just as when alcohol was outlawed in America, organized crime took it over, made money hand over fist and grew in both power and influence. The same thing would most likely happen with porn if the archbishop got his wish.


17 posted on 03/21/2007 10:33:16 AM PDT by Quick or Dead (Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms - Aristotle)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Frank Sheed

The pornographers and pornography users are sure to get their knickers twisted by this article ...


18 posted on 03/21/2007 10:39:02 AM PDT by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilisation is aborting, buggering, and contracepting itself out of existence.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Frank Sheed

Gen. Pace and Sen. Brownback are true Catholics


19 posted on 03/21/2007 10:49:37 AM PDT by Nihil Obstat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: ArrogantBustard

Absolutely. LOL.


20 posted on 03/21/2007 10:56:10 AM PDT by Dante3
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 201 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson