The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis has warned the faithful against indulging in pornography stressing that it undermines sexual pleasure.
He spoke during a catechesis dedicated to the vice of lust at his weekly general audience in the Vatican on Wednesday.
The pontiff said: “Sexual pleasure, which is a gift from God, is undermined by pornography. Satisfaction without relationship can generate forms of addiction.
“We must defend love. Winning the battle against lust, against the objectification of other people, can be a lifelong undertaking. Chastity is a virtue that is not to be confused with sexual abstinence. Chastity is beyond sexual abstinence.
It is the will to never possess the other person.
“To love is to respect the other, to seek his or her happiness, to cultivate empathy for his or her feelings, to dispose ourselves in the knowledge of a body, a psychology and a soul that are not our own, and that must be contemplated for the beauty they bear. To love is beautiful”.
Recall that Pope Francis had earlier prayed for Nigerians and thousands of lives across the worlds that were shattered by violence and war in the year that ended.
While sharing his thoughts on violence across the globe, Pope Francis reflected on the killings that took place in Plateau State on Christmas Eve.
He said: ‘Sadly, the celebration of Christmas in Nigeria was marked by serious violence in Plateau State, with many victims. I pray for them and their families: May God deliver Nigeria from these horrors.’
The cleric made the appeal following his sad reflection on 2023, which was blighted by violence, death, destruction and displacement. He recalled the sad Christmas celebration in Nigeria’s Plateau State, where no fewer than people were killed and scores injured on Christmas Eve in communal violence.
On Christmas eve, suspected armed bandits carried out multiple coordinated bloody attacks simultaneously at odd hours of the night, killing no fewer than 150 people in 15 communities of Bokkos and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areas of Plateau State. No fewer than eight vehicles were burnt in the process.