Pope Francis says engaging in pornography “undermines sexual pleasure that is a gift from God”, describing it as “satisfaction without a relationship”.
The Pope, delivering a homily at the Vatican as part of a series on vices and virtues on Wednesday, described sexual pleasure as a gift from God.
In the sermon focused on what he called “the demon of lust,” the Pope said sexual pleasure needs to be disciplined with patience.
“Among all human pleasures, sexuality has a powerful voice. It involves all the senses; it dwells both in the body and in the psyche, and this is very beautiful; but if it is not disciplined with patience, if it is not inscribed in a relationship and in a story where two individuals transform it into a loving dance, it turns into a chain that deprives human beings of freedom,” the Pope said.
“Sexual pleasure that is a gift from God is undermined by pornography: satisfaction without relationship can generate forms of addiction.
“We have to defend love, the love of the heart, of the mind, of the body, pure love in the giving of oneself to the other. And this is the beauty of sexual intercourse.”
The Pope’s address comes amid heavy criticism of Victor Manuel Fernández, his new head of doctrine, who has been under fire for a book he wrote and published in 1998 titled “Mystical Passion: Spirituality and Sensuality”.
Although the book has been out of circulation, a blog disclosed its existence on January 8 and was later reported by other media outlets.
The book consists of nine chapters: “The fire of divine love,” “A well of sublime passion,” “A crazy love story,” “Mystical passion,” “Until the end,” “My beautiful one come,” “Male and female orgasm,” “The path to orgasm,” and “God in the couple’s orgasm”.
Fernández said the book was drawn from research on male and female orgasm that he had done with a group of married couples intending to discover if it had any influence on the way they related to God.
The fresh condemnations also come a month after the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith which Fernández heads introduced a declaration later approved by the Pope detailing guidelines allowing priests to bless same-sex couples relationships.
