Pope urges priests and nuns to delete porn from their phones
SAME GOES FOR YOU OTHER FOLKS TOO
By Ellen Francis
SAME GOES FOR YOU OTHER FOLKS TOO
By Ellen Francis
WASHINGTON POST
October 27, 2022
Pope Francis warned priests and nuns against watching pornography online and urged them to delete it from their phones to avoid falling into temptation.
The 85-year-old pontiff told a Vatican session that porn on the internet was “a vice that so many people have … even priests and nuns,” in response to questions about using digital and social media responsibly.
“The devil enters from there. … It weakens the priestly heart,” he told seminarians and priests studying in Rome this week in remarks published by the Vatican on Wednesday.
“Dear brothers, pay attention to this,” he said. “And if you can delete this from your mobile phone, delete it, so you won’t have the temptation in hand.”
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The head of the Roman Catholic Church recounted that he had once received a mobile phone when he became a bishop, which he used to make a single call to his sister and immediately returned.
“It is not my world, but you must use it,” Francis said in comments about the benefits and risks of the internet. He asked his listeners to excuse him for mentioning porn but described it as “a reality.
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“I will not say raise your hand if you have had at least one experience of this,” he added, asking them to reflect on it personally.
During his pontificate, Francis’s more outspoken — and at times less conservative — overtones than his predecessors, including his invitation of LGBT advocates to the Vatican, have drawn global attention and pushback from within the church.
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In his nine-year tenure, he has issued apologies at several points, notably for sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Among them was a 2018 letter to Chilean bishops, in which he apologized for what he described as his own errors in handling a sex-abuse scandal. That year, the church was shaken by accusations that Francis knew and covered up the alleged sexual misconduct of an American cardinal, The Washington Post reported.
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In 2020, the Vatican said it would look into how the pope’s official Instagram account appeared to have liked a Brazilian model’s photo, in an incident that she quipped would help get her into heaven. The pope’s Instagram account, managed by a team under the username franciscus, has 8.9 million followers.
While he has been healthy during much of his papacy, recent medical issues have raised questions about whether Francis could retire, and he has acknowledged that he could have to slow down his globe-trotting pace. In December, he will become the oldest sitting pope since the 1800s.
October 27, 2022
Pope Francis warned priests and nuns against watching pornography online and urged them to delete it from their phones to avoid falling into temptation.
The 85-year-old pontiff told a Vatican session that porn on the internet was “a vice that so many people have … even priests and nuns,” in response to questions about using digital and social media responsibly.
“The devil enters from there. … It weakens the priestly heart,” he told seminarians and priests studying in Rome this week in remarks published by the Vatican on Wednesday.
“Dear brothers, pay attention to this,” he said. “And if you can delete this from your mobile phone, delete it, so you won’t have the temptation in hand.”
Pope jokes he is ‘still alive’ despite some bishops wishing him dead
The head of the Roman Catholic Church recounted that he had once received a mobile phone when he became a bishop, which he used to make a single call to his sister and immediately returned.
“It is not my world, but you must use it,” Francis said in comments about the benefits and risks of the internet. He asked his listeners to excuse him for mentioning porn but described it as “a reality.
Top executives quit Pornhub’s parent company amid more controversy
“I will not say raise your hand if you have had at least one experience of this,” he added, asking them to reflect on it personally.
During his pontificate, Francis’s more outspoken — and at times less conservative — overtones than his predecessors, including his invitation of LGBT advocates to the Vatican, have drawn global attention and pushback from within the church.
Is Pope Francis nearing the end of his pontificate?
In his nine-year tenure, he has issued apologies at several points, notably for sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Among them was a 2018 letter to Chilean bishops, in which he apologized for what he described as his own errors in handling a sex-abuse scandal. That year, the church was shaken by accusations that Francis knew and covered up the alleged sexual misconduct of an American cardinal, The Washington Post reported.
Catholic cardinal accused in lawsuit of sexual assault
In 2020, the Vatican said it would look into how the pope’s official Instagram account appeared to have liked a Brazilian model’s photo, in an incident that she quipped would help get her into heaven. The pope’s Instagram account, managed by a team under the username franciscus, has 8.9 million followers.
While he has been healthy during much of his papacy, recent medical issues have raised questions about whether Francis could retire, and he has acknowledged that he could have to slow down his globe-trotting pace. In December, he will become the oldest sitting pope since the 1800s.
Saleen Martin
USA TODAY
Pope Francis on Monday issued a harsh rebuke of watching pornography, calling it a vice of many Catholics, popes and nuns that should be avoided.
The comment was made in response to a question about today's generation of seminarians who are living in a digitally-forward world that includes social media.
According to the pope, pornography is "a vice that has so many people, so many lay people, so many lay women, and also priests and nuns."
"And I'm not just talking about criminal pornography like that of child abuse, where you see cases of abuse in vivo: this is already degeneration. But some 'normal' pornography."
He encouraged fellow Catholics to delete pornographic material from their phones so they "won't have the temptation in hand."
Pornography "weakens the soul," making room for the devil, he said.
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He said social media and other parts of today's digital world are signs of progress in science that help people communicate, but noted, "It's not my world."
With this usefulness come dangers and distractions such as music that get in the way of work, Francis said.
Over the past few decades, the Vatican has warned parishioners about the spread of pornography in the media, including in books, magazines, movies, and on television.
In one May 1989 memo, the Vatican said people who watch pornography may be likely to exhibit the behavior and attitudes from porn in real life
Even "soft core" pornography can desensitize people, the Vatican said at the time.
The church charged parents, educators, young people, religious groups and other organizations to try to curb pornography's influence by telling producers, companies and public officials how they feel about the content.
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