(OSV News) — The U.S. bishops recently released an updated version of their 2015 pastoral letter on the dangers of pornography, a document they said is “still needed today” amid increased social acceptance of — and addiction to — such material.
“Create in Me a Pure Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography,” prepared by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, is now available for download from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website. It was approved by the full body of bishops at their fall plenary assembly in November 2015.
The document — with a title, slightly modified for its 10th anniversary, evoking Psalm 51 — has a new preface with numerous action steps for parents, clergy, educators, and lay and civil leaders.
Pornography Is ‘Gravely Wrong’
However, the bishops offer an unchanged message that denounces pornography as “gravely wrong,” and “a mortal sin if it is committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.”
Another constant stressed by the bishops: “The Lord’s mercy and forgiveness are abundant.”
“God’s grace and concrete help are always available,” the bishops wrote. “Healing is always possible.”
They noted that many turn to pornography — defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as “removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties” — due to “deep personal wounds,” such as loneliness and isolation.
‘Distorted View of Human Person, Sexuality’
Pornography itself is based on a “distorted view of the human person and sexuality,” said the bishops, and offends against chastity by perverting the conjugal act, which is reserved for spouses and ordered to the good of marriage and children.
Despite proponents’ claims to the contrary, pornography “harms countless men, women, children, marriages, and families,” with its prevalence creating a “structure of sin” that exploits and degrades human dignity, the bishops said.
“There are many victims of pornography. Every person portrayed in it is beloved by God our Father and is someone’s daughter or son,” they wrote. “Their dignity is abused as they are used for others’ pleasure and profit.”
The bishops also underscored pornography’s “connections to sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.”
Child Victims of Sex Trafficking
Women and girls made up 61% of those trafficked in 2022, with most enslaved for sexual exploitation, and the number of child victims — in particular girls — is surging, according to the 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, published by the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crimes.
The internet and artificial intelligence have accelerated the creation and distribution of pornography, the bishops observed.
Research has also shown that pornography, usually combined with masturbation — which church teaching holds is “an intrinsically and gravely disordered action” (CCC 2352) — directly impacts the brain’s reward system, with effects similar to those from drugs or alcohol.
A 2022 study in the Journal of Psychosexual Health has stressed a “paradigm shift” in the understanding of behavioral addictions, including compulsive pornography use, noting that “any source or experience capable of stimulating an individual has addictive potential.”
‘Moral Culpability’
The bishops clarified that “the moral culpability of an addicted person may be lessened depending on the circumstances,” but stressed that “the situation is particularly grave.”
“Addictions are very hard to overcome, and help is needed to regain one’s freedom,” they wrote. “We invite the many good men and women who suffer from addiction to pornography to trust in the Lord’s mercy and seek appropriate help, support, and resources.”
At the same time, the bishops noted that despite pornography’s devastating consequences, more Americans have normalized such material.
The bishops cited a 2022 Gallup poll noting that 41% of Americans deemed pornography morally acceptable, a 34% increase over 2015. In 2016, the Barna Group found that only 32% of teens and young adults ages 13-24 said viewing pornography was wrong.
Pandemic Accelerated Industry
The industry as a whole is projected to grow by some $30 billion over the five-year period 2024-2029, having been accelerated in part by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bishops proposed a number of specific ways to counter pornography and replace its use with a life-affirming understanding of human sexuality.
They encouraged parents to strengthen their own faith formation, “especially in the realm of family and sexuality,” and to impart that formation to their children through regular, age-appropriate discussions of chastity and sexuality, “instead of waiting to have one difficult ‘talk’ with them.”
Bishops also advised parents to model temperance and discretion in the use of digital media, teaching their children to do the same and to cultivate healthy relationships.
Transformative Power of Gospel
The pastoral letter instructed clergy to proclaim the transformative power of the Gospel “as it relates to technology, sexuality, and community,” while providing faithful with pastoral support and practical resources — among them, informational materials warning about the dangers of pornography, as well as mental health resources.
The bishops urged educators to ban “all use of mobile devices during school hours, or at least prohibit their use for non-emergency purposes in the classroom,” and to teach the importance of chastity, using resources such as age-adapted versions of the Theology of the Body curriculum, which is based on St. John Paul II’s articulation of church teaching on marriage and family life.
Civil leaders and authorities “should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials,” the bishops declared, directing legislators to “address the scourge of pornography and the lack of meaningful safeguards against it.”
Several Specific Recommendations
Given the rise of artificial intelligence and other technologies that have facilitated pornography, the bishops put forth several specific recommendations, such as:
— Age verification requirements on pornographic websites.
— Support for parents seeking to protect their children online.
— Safeguards on social media platforms to prevent abuse by predators and erosion of parental rights.
The bishops also vigorously stressed the need for accountability regarding those who, either in secular society or the church, “allow minors and other vulnerable people to be sexually exploited.”
“It is cooperation with profound evil to allow abusers and their accomplices to evade justice and continue in influential roles to preserve reputations,” wrote the bishops. “The words of our Lord hold just as true for those who shelter abusers as they do for those who get youths addicted to pornography: ‘Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.’ (Mt 18:6)”
The bishops concluded the updated pastoral letter with a message of hope.
“We assure all who are struggling with the sin of pornography and striving to cultivate chastity that you are not alone in your struggle,” they said. “Jesus is with you, and the Church offers you love and support. Trust in and be led by the Holy Spirit.”
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.
