Pope Francis Warns Young Seminarians: Pornography “Weakens the Soul”

Pope Francis had a long dialogue with seminarians and priests studying in Rome earlier this week.

In the Paul VI Audience Hall, he was asked ten questions and addressed many topics like spiritual direction, being a compassionate pastor, and remaining close to the people.

He also took the time to warn them about the “temptation of digital pornography,” saying it “weakens the soul.”

“Dear brothers, be careful of this. The pure heart, the heart that receives Jesus every day, cannot receive this pornographic information.” 

He said if can delete it from their phones they should, because “it is a vice that so many people have – so many lay men, so many lay women, and even priests and religious sisters.”

Pope Francis made it clear he wasn’t talking about “criminal pornography, like child abuse,” but “‘normal’ pornography.”

“The devil enters from there. It weakens the priestly heart.”

The Church teaches that pornography is “a grave offense.”

“Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church 2354

🙏 Pray for the cultivation of a pure heart!