Pornography is Satanic By Mrs Vera West

I have argued in the blog for a long time that pornography, the product of the 1960s cultural revolution, constitutes an attack not only upon the family, family values and morality, but is particularly damaging to the sexual function. It is surprising that the churches did not fight this issue harder, as it is obvious where it was going to go. But, the issue is much more than a secular policy issue. Msgr. Stephen Rossetti, an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington, has said that what we are seeing here is spiritual warfare, with pornography being a direct Satanic weapon. I think this is literally true, as unpopular as such thought may be in our secularised consumer society.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/porn-addiction-is-an-opening-to-the-demonic-exorcist/

“An American priest and exorcist has warned that pornography can open souls to demonic activity, in contrast to recent comments made by a German priest praising the “benefits” of the evil medium. 

“A pornography addiction, like any serious sin, is an opening to the demonic,” Msgr. Stephen Rossetti, an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington, said in an interview with Catholic News Agency last week. 

“It is never a good thing to exploit people as sexual objects, which the porn industry does,” Rossetti stated, adding, “A porn habit can be an open door to escalating sexual dysfunction.” 

Msgr. Rossetti, a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse, has worked for over 15 years as an exorcist in Washington, D.C.  He is the president and founder of the St. Michael Center For Spiritual Renewal as well as a licensed psychologist with 30 years’ experience working in psychological treatment and spiritual renewal for priests and religious, according to the Center’s own website. Rossetti both trains exorcists and has himself led hundreds of exorcisms and deliverance sessions. 

Rossetti’s condemnation of pornography as an opening to the demonic stands in contrast to a German priest’s high praise of the material for those who are married as well as for priests and religious. 

Fr. Hermann Backhaus, a priest and psychologist, claimed that pornography could have positive effects within a marriage.

“There are positive effects of explicit sexuality in relation to the couple,” he alleged, such as “making their love life become more alive.” 

The priest claimed that for celibate people, “the consumption of explicit sexual representations can have a relieving effect, it can’t be denied.” 

He said that “the clergy, religious, and other people at the service of the Church generally have experience with pornography,” adding, “as a psychologist, I do not judge or condemn porn consumption.” 

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Backhaus was asked about Pope Francis’ recent comments condemning pornography in an address to seminarians, in which the Pope said that “[p]riests and nuns also have the vice of porn on the web. Beware: the devil enters from there and weakens the soul.” In response the priest psychologist stated that “to bring the devil in connection with pornography is a very strong statement. I don’t know if Francis is not rather working against his intention than promoting it.”  

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In contrast to Backhaus’ assessment of the sexual addiction, Rossetti affirmed the destructive effects of pornography on marriages, individuals, and society at large. “A pornography addiction can destroy marriages,” he declared. “A porn addiction can distort a person’s sexuality,” and “not only seriously harms the user, it supports a billion-dollar industry that exploits people, especially women and children.” 

The Catholic Church universally condemns all forms of pornography in no uncertain terms. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the following on the matter:   

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. (CCC 2354)  

In the Gospel, Christ Himself unequivocally declares, “You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that anyone who so much as looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Then doubling down on the necessity of avoiding even the occasion of sin, Christ declares, “So if thy right eye is an occasion of sin to thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it is better for thee that one of thy members should perish than that thy whole body should be thrown into hell.” (Mt 5:27-29) 

Similarly, it is not merely external chastity that Our Lord demands of His disciples, but interior purity of heart, promising, “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.” (Mt 5:8)

From a Christian perspective, all forms of pornography commit the sin of adultery, as described by Jesus Christ.