Shocker! Do nuns and priests watch porn?
Pope Francis dropped a bomb during a convention in the Vatican when he said that even nuns and priests watch pornographic content online, just like everybody else.
The 85-year-old Pope said, “It is a vice that many people have, many laymen, many laywomen, and also priests and nuns.”
The remarks of the Pope came in response to a question about how the new generation of the clergy can use social media tools to “share the joy about being a Christian, without forgetting our identity or being too exposed and arrogant.”
Let’s take a closer look at what else did the Pope say and how the church views pornography.
Pope Francis equated porn with the gateway to hell.
While he said that social media and digital tools can be used “to advance and to communicate” at the same time warned them about being exposed to the “dangers”, namely digital pornography.
“The pure heart, the one that Jesus receives every day, cannot receive this pornographic information,” said Pope Francis during the seminar.
He further said, “The Devil gets in that way. And I’m not just talking about criminal pornography like that involving the abuse of children, that is already degeneration. But pornography that is a little ‘normal’.”
He also cautioned priests and nuns to “be careful about this” and advised them to “delete this from your phone, so you will not have temptation in hand.”
The Pope who said porn “weakens the soul” also noted that social media and other parts of today’s digital world are signs of progress in science but said “It’s not my world,” according to a report by USA Today.
What is the vow of celibacy?
All nuns and priests who fall under the ambit of the Catholic Church are required to lead a life of celibacy that was imposed upon the clergy in 1123, according to a report by The Conversation.
As a part of the vow of celibacy, a nun or a priest is forbidden from marrying and engaging in any act of sexual fulfilment in order to formally begin a relationship with parishioners and God.
According to The Economist, the Catholic Church’s Code of Canon Law describes celibacy as a “special gift of God” which allows practitioners to follow the example of Jesus Christ, who was himself chaste.
Another reason why nuns and priests are required to practice celibacy is that once a person enters into the service of God, the church becomes his or her highest calling. Due to this, having a family might become a reason for conflict between their spiritual and familial duties. Therefore, the Vatican thinks it’s best to forego any commitments that might distract a person from the church and God.
Even before 1123, when it was imposed upon the clergy, celibacy was a tradition that was practiced voluntarily by those who wanted to attain the life of priesthood. These practices included sexual continence, poverty and abstinence.
Also, the Catechism – a summary of the principles of Christianity – defines sexual imagery (pornography) as an ‘offence against chastity’ under article 2354. It says, “Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual 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. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials.”
However, over the years the vow of celibacy has come under fire. According to a report by DW, in 2017, a group of 11 retired high-ranking Catholic priests caused a stir across Germany with their demand to abolish celibacy.
One of the priests said, “We believe that requiring that every man who becomes a priest to remain celibate is not acceptable. We think every Catholic should be allowed to choose if they would rather be celibate or not, regardless of whether they want to work as priests or not – just like in the Protestant Church or the Orthodox church, really, every church but the Catholic Church.”
In the same year, Pope Francis considered ordaining married men into the church to address an acute shortage of priests. However, in 2020, he decided against it, according to The Guardian.
Does the Bible say anything about porn?
According to Christianity.com, the Bible makes it clear that followers must avoid “sexual immorality” because it has a lasting residual effect.
The Bible also says that “everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Apart from this it also advices people to “flee from sexual immorality.”
According to jw.org, even though the scripture doesn’t directly mention pornography, cybersex or any other similar activities, it is very clear how God feels about actions that promote sex outside marriage or a distorted view of sex.
Lust not the worst of the seven sins?
Christianity believes that there are seven deadly sins that a person must avoid indulging in. These are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride and envy.
In 2021, the Pope surprised everyone by saying that lust isn’t the worst of the seven sins. During a visit from Greece to Italy, Pope Francis told reporters that there are worse indiscretions than sex outside of marriage.
He said, “Sins of the flesh are not the most serious.” Instead, offenses like pride and hatred are more serious than lust, he mentioned.
According to a report by New York Post, the comment came after the resignation of an archbishop from Paris, who had to quit over his alleged relationship with a woman.
With inputs from agencies
