VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV spoke about how addictions to pornography and technology are greatly harming modern society, especially the youth, while addressing a conference by video on Friday.
In a roughly five-minute video address (viewable below but in Italian) for Italy’s seventh annual National Conference on Addictions, released November 7, the pontiff emphasized that one of the greatest sources for addiction in modern times, particularly for young people, is smartphones and other technologies that allow easy access to the internet as well as pornographic, gambling, and other highly addictive content. Leo further stressed that these addictions, which cause grave spiritual harm, ultimately stem from an inner distress and yearning for Christ. He called on the Church, secular institutions, and parents to help form the youth’s consciences.
“(T)he growing use of the internet, computers and smartphones is associated not only with clear benefits but also an excessive use that often leads to addictions with negative consequences for health, such as compulsive gambling and betting, pornography, and almost constant presence on digital platforms,” the pontiff said.
“These phenomena are most often a symptom of the mental or inner distress of the individual and a social decline in positive values and references, particularly in teenagers and young people. Youth is a time of trials and questions, of the search for a meaning in life and in making choices for the future,” he added.
Indeed, a recent British government report found that because of the easy access to pornographic content on social media, children as young as six are exposed to the immoral material accidentally before they even reach adolescence.
READ: New report shows children as young as 6 are exposed to porn through social media
Pope Leo noted some of the psychological and spiritual consequences that porn addiction has on young people’s brains, such as their intellect becoming clouded, so they can not distinguish between good and evil behaviors. The Holy Father further underscored that parents, clergy, and educational agencies must encourage the youth to properly form their consciences.
“Therefore, the efforts of parents and various educational agencies, such as schools, parishes, and oratories, aimed at inspiring spiritual and moral values in the younger generation so that they behave responsibly, are to be appreciated and encouraged,” the pontiff said. “Adolescents and young people need to form their consciences, develop their inner lives and establish positive relationships with their peers and constructive dialogue with adults, in order to become free and responsible architects of their own lives.”
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“State institutions, voluntary associations, the Church and society are called upon to perceive among these young people a cry for help and a deep thirst for life, to offer an attentive and supportive presence that invites them to make an intellectual and moral effort, and helps them to forge their will,” he added.
In recent years, several Catholic clergy and thinkers have warned of the tremendous spiritual dangers of pornography consumption. As previously reported by LifeSiteNews, Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, a priest and exorcist, has warned that the evil medium opens the door to the demonic.
