Indeed, as Putin put it, pornography is a global “scourge”, affecting one’s view of others, as well as the divinely-ordained purpose of the marital act. Catholic and secular authorities have acknowledged the deleterious consequences of pornographic consumption to individuals, families, and society as a whole.
Russian President Putin recently made some noteworthy remarks to his countrymen during the yearly end-of-year press conference in Moscow and the “Direct Line” question-and-answer session.
And no, these comments were not about the long-drawn Russo-Ukrainian conflict.
Rather, the Russian leader admitted that pornography was not only a “problem” for Russia, but also a “worldwide” problem.
“Porn sites are watched, I think, all over the world. It’s worldwide, it’s not just our problem. It’s a problem in a lot of other countries, too,” Putin said, in statements cited by Russia Today (RT).
Moreover, the Russian leader acknowledged that it was easy to access porn, just like “ordering a beefsteak”.
Although in some cases bans can be a possibility, people have to be given better alternatives to porn, Putin stated, without illustrating what these “alternatives” were.
“There can be bans and prohibitions, but one has to always come up with alternatives — something more engaging and more interesting than a porn website to fill the void that causes greater interest,” Putin asserted at the press conference, in remarks quoted by WION.
“So that when someone gets on a porn site, they say: Look, I’ve seen all that, but now I want to see something different, something that’s exciting, you know?” he stated.
Indeed, as Putin put it, pornography is a global “scourge”, affecting one’s view of others, as well as the divinely-ordained purpose of the marital act.
Catholic and secular authorities have acknowledged the deleterious consequences of pornographic consumption to individuals, families, and society as a whole.
Worse still, on a supernatural plane, viewing pornography goes against the Sixth Commandment and grievously offends Almighty God and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Put simply, pornography kills the soul, severing its relationship with our good God.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 2354) cited by Catholic News Agency (CNA):
“Pornography consists in removing real or simulated 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.”
Sam Guzman was spot-on when he wrote in The Catholic Gentleman:
“It is difficult to exaggerate just how evil pornography is. It will destroy your marriage (or religious vocation) and other relationships. It will corrupt your intellect, emotions, and will, filling your mind with thousands of vile images that won’t go away. It will pull you deeper and deeper in, until you are looking at perversions you could not have imagined. It will become a need so intense you can no longer function normally without it. It will drive you to act on evil impulses, perhaps leading to sexual violence. It will rack you with guilt, driving you from your Creator and Redeemer. It will become everything to you. It will consume you. It will destroy your soul and send you to hell.”
Coming from highly digitalized Singapore with the serious twin problems of widespread pornography use and voyeurism, I can testify to the consequences of early digital exposure and addiction in a fast-paced and dog-eat-dog society among many of my peers.
Some of these people, both men and women included, chose to withdraw from numerous social interactions to the comfort of their screens at home to play video games and watch adult content.
Others I know of were in unhappy unions because one partner consumed pornography, making the other partner feel unloved, unwanted and undesirable.
Since pornography is so debilitating, it cannot be tolerated.
This brings us back to Putin’s aforementioned remarks about finding something “more engaging and more interesting” than pornography to “ fill the void”.
Firstly, Putin is right that there is a “void” in people waiting to be filled.
Unfortunately, the Russian leader did not go further and state who or what can fill that emptiness in people’s hearts.
Fortunately for us Catholics, we have the holy Church Father St. Augustine of Hippo who proclaimed, “Our hearts were made for Thee, O Lord, and will not rest until they rest in Thee.”
St. Augustine is right that deep down inside all of us, we have a longing for God that nothing else can fill.
A priest-friend once told me, with regard to such sins (of the flesh), “the cowards win the battle”. In other words, if we find ourselves tempted by the flames of lust, we should flee for the hills rather than rely on our own strength to fight it.
However, as Mary Beth Bonacci put it, “when that hole isn’t filled with God, we try to fill it with other things, like material possessions, money, drugs, sex —whatever we can find.”
Given that we Catholics are blessed and privileged to have the sacraments (particularly the Holy Eucharist and Confession) and the Blessed Virgin Mary (an invincible means of help if we turn to Her), one may wonder why some Catholics are still victims of pornographic addiction.
Yet upon realizing that we are nothing but weak human beings suffering from the effects of original sin, Catholics falling into such serious mortal sins is not that surprising after all (though such situations are to be avoided, with God’s grace).
Nonetheless, compared to many of our non-Catholic peers who don’t have the sacraments and don’t know the Blessed Virgin Mary as a powerful Mother and Advocate, we Catholics definitely are more equipped to battle the epidemic of pornography in our personal lives and in society.
God is infinitely good as He is infinitely perfect. His unconditional love for us (as evidenced by His Passion, Scourging, Crucifixion, and Death) is undeniable.
Humbling ourselves and realizing our absolute incapacity to do anything good without such a loving God is the first step towards conquering impurity.
By meditating on Jesus’ passion, particularly His scourging, we can visualize the terrible consequences of impurity. By distrusting our weak and unreliable selves and trusting in God’s power and willingness to help us fight impurity, by the relevant and appropriate forms of mortification, and importantly, by a strong and unwavering devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, we can take steps to combat pornography and lust.
A priest-friend once told me, with regard to such sins (of the flesh), “the cowards win the battle”. In other words, if we find ourselves (even remotely) tempted by the flames of lust, we should flee for the hills rather than rely on our own strength to fight it.
Also, the 3 Hail Marys daily devotion is especially powerful in combating the pangs of lust. Our Lady never abandons Her children and devotees during critical times in temptation, provided we call on Her with a sincere desire to avoid sin.
Additionally, TAN Books has a set of useful guidelines to combat lust (that can be found here).
One of my favorite paragraphs from the TAN guidelines is the following that speaks of the importance of charity, humility and compassion for one’s neighbor struggling with sexual sin:
“Never judge others rashly, particularly in regard to impurity. If any are unfortunate enough to fall into such disorder, and even if the affair becomes public, you must not treat them with scorn and contempt. Rather pity their weakness, and take advantage of the occasion to humble yourself before God, acknowledging that you are but dust and ashes. Redouble your prayers and avoid with greater care all dangerous company, however insignificant may be your reasons for suspecting it. For if you permit yourself the liberty of severe judgments on your neighbors, God will permit you, for your punishment and amendment, to fall into the same faults for which you condemned others, in order that by such humiliation you may discover your own pride and rashness, and then you can find proper remedies for both. Although it is possible that you would avoid these degrading sins, yet be assured that, if you continue to form these rash judgments, you are in great danger of ruin.”
With the help of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Virgin Mary, great saints like St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Margaret of Cortona and St. Mary of Egypt overcame impurity and the pleasures of the flesh. After all, “for human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”( Matt. 19:26)
The Catholic Faith has an abundance of necessary means to supplement Putin’s reply about replacing pornography with “more engaging and more interesting” alternatives and filling our “void”. By replacing selfish lust with a selfless love for God, and His Most Holy Mother Mary, we can fight the demons of lust. On this note, non-Catholics hoping to combat pornography would have lots to gain by exploring the power, richness, beauty and truth of the Catholic Faith in their battle against impurity.
Mary, Mother most pure, pray for us.
St. Joseph, Chaste spouse of the Mother of God and Terror of Demons, pray for us.
St. Aloysius Gonzaga, pray for us.
St. Maria Goretti, pray for us.
