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Pope Francis warned young priests against all forms of pornography during a conversation in Rome on Monday morning, but one Catholic leader is arguing not all pornography should be demonized.
The 85-year-old pope is well-loved by Catholics around the world for his tolerant and modern take on topics important to the Catholic Church. An Insider article reported that the pope reportedly sneaks out of the Vatican at night to visit with and give money to homeless people, has been accepting of gay Christians and strives to interact regularly with normal people. However, the pope took a hard stance against pornography this week, urging Catholics to delete pornography from their phones.
The pope told young priests during the conversation that officials in the Catholic Church struggle with the vice, even priests and nuns, but that pornography wasn't acceptable, according to an article in Katholisch, the Catholic Church's news portal in Germany.
"The devil comes from there [pornography]," Pope Francis said. "The pure heart that receives Jesus every day cannot receive this pornographic information."
Pope Francis said Catholics should avoid both legal and illegal pornography. His suggestion split Catholic leaders, with some agreeing pornography should be avoided in all facets and others asking for rules around which pornography was allowed.
Bishop of Chur, Switzerland, Joseph Bonnemain supported the pope's beliefs.
"Pornography can develop a high addictive potential, especially young people are particularly at risk," he said in a translated statement published on Katholisch.
However, prevention officer of the Diocese of Chur Karin Iten spoke out against the all-encompassing language. She questioned what sexuality was granted to celibate people in the Catholic Church.
"Instead of spiritual exaggeration, guilt and fear-mongering of the devil, it would be interesting to learn from Pope Francis what sexuality he grants celibate people," she said in a report by Katholisch.
Iten said child pornography and pornography which exploits people should be forbidden, which Bonnemain agreed with. However, Iten said legal pornography was "a complete different category" and if it was produced under fair work conditions, it should not be "demonized" across the board.
"The opportunities and risks of consumption can only be talked about openly if it does not argue with blanket fear-mongering and guilt pressure—with the reference to the devil," Iten said, according to a translation.
In a statement, Iten encouraged people using pornography to take a healthy approach to the practice. She spoke with a sex therapist who described healthy pornography use as when the user doesn't lose the feeling of their own body and is able to distinguish between representation and real sex.
Iten said addiction should be addressed by professionals, and that the Catholic Church shouldn't demonize pornography but should handle it carefully.
"Legal pornography has a huge range. To beat everything across the board is too little differentiated and too careless," Iten said.
Newsweek reached out to the Vatican for comment.
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Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more