Diocesan Resources
Pornography: What's the Problem? By Mark Houck (2008)
Pornography: What's the Problem? By Mark Houck, the co-founder and president of a lay apostolate called The King's Men.
The startling growth of the pornography industry in the last 15 years represents a grave threat to the well-being of society. Many of the social ills and behavioral disorders plaguing our world today—teenage sexual promiscuity, crisis pregnancy, adultery, abortion, divorce, sexual abuse, sexual deviancy, rape, and incest— can be linked to the spread of pornography.
Our dignity and worth come from God, not from our accomplishments or possessions. We are “like” God in that we have an immortal soul, we are called to be holy as God is holy, and we have the abilities to reason and to love. As Catholics, we understand the beautiful reality that each unique human person is a unity of body and soul, and that our human dignity includes our sexuality:
- Our sexuality is part of our person. It gives us the ability to connect and give ourselves in love to another person. Our human sexuality is an important means by which we can share in the love and creativity of God.
- Only in marriage can a man and woman give their entire selves, body and soul, to their spouse. This love alone—love that is free, total, faithful and fruitful—can satisfy the desires of our hearts.
- Any action that undermines the unity of the body and soul, that treats sexuality as simply a physical activity or treats another person as an object to be used, demeans the dignity of the human person.