Clarity and Charity: What the Catholic Church Really Teaches About Pornography and Why
- Father Scott Bailey
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 10 minutes ago
Note: In this first part of a four-part mini-series, we delve into what the Catholic Church teaches about pornography and why. Father Scott Bailey considers what the Catechism says, how pornography affects our souls and how we might find freedom from it. Given recent survey data that show a worrisome and marked increase in societal acceptance of pornography in the United States, this series might be more timely than ever.
I always wear my Roman collar on airplanes. That often leads to interesting conversations!
Several years ago, I was on a flight when the passenger beside me leaned in and said, “Hey, I just want to say… I think that what you do is pretty cool.”
He asked about my ministry, and we started having a really engaging discussion. And then he brought up priestly celibacy, suggesting that the lack of sexual activity was the cause of the clergy sexual abuse scandal.
I was somewhat offended because I am grateful for my celibate vocation and completely disagreed with his argument. So, I jumped onto my soapbox and proceeded to lecture him on how the root problem of sexual crime is not the lack of sex, but rather sexual indulgence, especially pornography. I spoke passionately about the harmful effects of pornography on the mind, the will and relationships.
When I finally finished talking, it was clear he didn’t know how to respond and felt uncomfortable. He just gave me a thoughtful “Hmm” and then put in his earbuds to look out the window for the rest of the flight.
It was not my brightest moment, pastorally speaking.
Over the years, pornography has been a topic that has come up frequently in my ministry, especially in the confessional. Thankfully, I have learned to soften my delivery! It is already an uncomfortable topic to discuss, but that is even more so the case for those who struggle with porn use. This subject must be handled with clarity (because people deserve the Truth) and with charity (because people deserve to be loved, even in their sins).
So, let’s unpack the Church’s teaching on pornography with both clarity and charity.
What does the Church teach about pornography?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a good place to start, as it says almost everything we need to know in a few concise sentences:
“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 2354)
Notice that this gives us three reasons why pornography is a sin.
It offends against chastity. Chastity is the virtue of self-mastery over our sexual desires. There is no doubt that Jesus calls every person to chastity, no matter their state in life, when he says that if we even look at another person with lust, we have committed adultery in our heart (see Matthew 5:27-28).
It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants. Since pornographic material is sexually explicit with the purpose of arousal, it disrespects the dignity of the human bodies represented. Porn reduces the human person to an object to be used. In the words of Pope St. John Paul II, “The person can never be considered a means to an end; above all, never a means of ‘pleasure’. The person is and must be nothing other than the end of every act. Only then does the action correspond to the true dignity of the person” (Gratissimam Sane, 1994 Letter to Families, 12).
It immerses us into the illusion of a fantasy world. On the surface, this doesn’t sound so bad, does it? It sounds almost as harmless as watching Lord of the Rings! But the fantasy world of pornography twists our perception of reality, specifically in regard to sex, marriage and human dignity. Many experts in psychology, like Dr. Victor Cline, have found that pornography addiction often leads to desensitization, in which the user is no longer bothered by the immorality of repulsive or illegal material; seeing such things as acceptable can lead to acting out in inappropriate ways. This is the terrible spiral of the fantasy world of pornography.
Taking all that into consideration, the Catechism simply states that pornography “is a grave offense.” This means that porn always fulfills the first of the three conditions for a mortal sin: it is grave matter. The other two conditions for mortal sin are full knowledge and deliberate consent. So, if a person using pornography also understands that it is immoral and is exercising the use of their free will, then it is a mortal sin which must be confessed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
How does pornography affect a person’s spiritual life?
Those who struggle with pornography often carry a deep shame about it. Confession might establish a re-commitment to chastity and a temporary sense of freedom, but “the devil is always prowling like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Temptation never flees for long.
Many people feel caught in a recurring cycle of temptation, pornography and Confession. It can be deeply discouraging. The person who struggles with porn does not need to be told about the crippling effect it can have on their spiritual life. They already know it from experience.
Pornography can negatively impact a person’s spiritual life in the following ways:
Pornography use can lead to discouragement and despair.
The feeling of shame can make prayer difficult.
The feeling of shame can make a person more susceptible to believing the lies of the devil, such as: “You are evil,” “You can never be free of this sin,” or “Nobody will ever love you.”
When mortally sinful, it can lead to a sense of “separation” from God because, in truth, mortal sin causes “the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace” in the soul (Catechism 1861).
Many who struggle with pornography feel like hypocrites before God, so they stop receiving the sacraments — even Reconciliation — which is detrimental to any person’s spiritual growth.
These spiritual consequences are painful, but they are often at the heart of a person’s desire to overcome pornography. Thankfully, freedom is possible with God’s grace!
How to find freedom from the sin of pornography
Overcoming any sin requires two things: personal commitment and reliance on God.
Even though I could give a long list of ideas for how to make a personal commitment to overcome porn, I won’t do that here. It is not a menu, puzzle or combination lock, where you just have to put together the right things and you’ll find freedom. Making a personal commitment to overcoming porn will look different for every person and “self-mastery is a long and exacting work” (Catechism 2342).
To overcome sin, we have to learn to live with the discomfort of temptation. We have to learn to get our minds onto something else. We have to learn to call on the name of Jesus when we think we cannot fight any longer. We have to learn to replace bad behaviors with good ones. We have to take stronger measures to avoid sin and ask for support from people who want the best for us.
Ultimately, freedom is found in God’s grace. Yes, chastity is a moral virtue that we have to work at developing. But “it is also a gift from God, a grace … to imitate the purity of Christ” (Catechism 2345). We cannot deny the need for prayer and absolute reliance on God.
No matter the sin, we humbly confess it to the Lord and ask for the grace to begin again. We surrender to his mercy over and over again, trusting in his words to St. Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in your weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
