Verghese V Joseph –
Early this week, the Holy Father Francis met the seminarians and priests studying in Rome in the Vatican and cautioned them regarding the temptation of digital pornography. He was responding to a question he was asked about how digital and social media should be best used.
Today’s generation of priests and seminarians is immersed in the digital world and social media. He was asked how can they learn to use these tools as an opportunity to share the joy of being Christian, without forgetting their identity or being too exposed and arrogant?
Responding to the query, Pope Francis said, “I believe these things must be used, because it is a progress of science, they do a service to be able to progress in life. I don’t use them because I arrived late, you know? When I was ordained a bishop, 30 years ago, they gave me one, a cell phone, which was like a shoe, that big, right? I said, “No, I can’t use this.” And finally I said, “I’ll make a call.” I called my sister, greeted her, then returned it. “Give me something else”. I was unable to use it. Why my psychology was wrong or I was lazy, no one knows.”
In a transcript published by the Vatican on Wednesday, Pope Francis said, “Each of you think if you’ve had the experience or had the temptation of digital pornography. It’s a vice that so many people have, so many laymen, so many laywomen, and even priests and nuns.” He added, “I’m not just talking about criminal pornography like child abuse, where you see live cases of abuse: that’s already degeneracy. But of the more ‘normal’ pornography.”
“The devil enters from there,” he warned and added, “It weakens the priestly heart.”
“It is a vice that has so many people, so many lay people, so many lay women, and also priests and nuns. The devil enters from there. Dear brothers, pay attention to this. The pure heart, the one that Jesus receives every day, cannot receive this pornographic information,” he the Pontiff warned.
“And if you can delete this from your mobile phone, delete it, so you won’t have the temptation in hand. And if you can’t cancel it, defend yourself well not to get into this. I tell you, it is a thing that weakens the soul. It weakens the soul,” he said.
“And I’m not just talking about criminal pornography like that of child abuse, there’s already degeneration. Dear brothers, pay attention to this. The pure heart, the one that Jesus receives every day, cannot receive this pornographic information,” he stated.
Advising them on how to overcome these temptations, the Holy Father said, “The right discernment is to look for the way to God and not ‘finds balance’ because the imbalance is always resolved on a higher level, not on the same level. And this is a grace of prayer, a grace of spiritual experience. Go before the Lord with an imbalance, helped by a brother if you want, and prayer, the search to do God’s will leads you to resolve the imbalance, but on another level. Always carries you forward, it takes you out of the contradiction of the imbalance – which is not a mathematical contradiction, it is a human contradiction – and takes you one step further. An imbalance is not resolved with just one of the parties, no. They both change to a new situation. And this is the grace of spiritual accompaniment, which helps us find this way to resolve imbalances,” he suggested.