Pope: "Sexual Pleasure is a Gift from God, Pornography is..."

Warning from the Vatican Cathedral Catechism Book

Pope Francis called "sexual pleasure a gift from God" but also urged Catholic believers "not to fall into pornography." On the 17th (local time), the British daily The Guardian and the American New York Post reported that the Pope said this during a catechesis delivered from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, emphasizing that sexual pleasure should be cherished but is "being damaged by pornography."

Pope Francis [Photo by AFP·Yonhap News]

The Pope stressed, "Satisfaction without (human) relationship can lead to addiction," and said, "We must protect love." He continued, "Winning the battle against desire is a lifelong task. Lust leads to 'dangerous evil.'" He warned about pornography, saying, "Lust plunders, steals, consumes hastily, and does not listen to the other person. It only pays attention to its own needs and pleasures and judges all courtship as boring. It clouds the judgment between reason, drive, and feeling, which are necessary to be a wise being."

The Pope's remarks appear to be a response to criticism from conservatives within the Catholic Church directed at Cardinal V?ctor Manuel Fern?ndez, the Argentine-born Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and a close aide to the Pope. Controversy arose last week when it was revealed that Cardinal Fern?ndez had written a sexually explicit book decades ago. The book is currently out of print. Cardinal Fern?ndez had previously been known for writing books containing sexual content, including descriptions of differences between male and female orgasms.

This is not the first time Pope Francis has mentioned pornography. In 2022, while speaking to theology students about the dangers of social media, he referred to digital pornography as the "devil." At that time, the Pope acknowledged that priests and nuns also watch pornography but warned clergy and laypeople alike that "the devil enters there."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.