VII. Conclusion: The Lord Is Rich in Mercy

“You will let me hear gladness and joy.” (Ps 51:10)

As we close, we assure all who are struggling with the sin of pornography and striving to cultivate chastity that you are not alone in your struggle. Jesus is with you, and the Church offers you love and support. Trust in and be led by the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s mercy and forgiveness are abundant! “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us” (Ps 103:12). God’s grace and concrete help are always available. Healing is always possible. We thank all men, women, and young people who are helping to build a culture of authentic love and chastity and helping others live a life of freedom and purity.

The Church also looks to the saints. Their example and intercession are a great help for us. In a particular way, we invite renewed devotion to the Holy Family and entrustment to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Sacred Heart of Jesus. Like many of us, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph experienced the joys and struggles of everyday family life—and they did it with great love and purity. At the center of their chaste love was Jesus Christ, and in this way their love serves as a model for all. Jesus is meant to be at the center of our love and relationships as well. Joseph was a righteous man and is a powerful intercessor for all struggling to be pure, especially men. Mary’s Immaculate Heart and Jesus’ Sacred Heart unveil the purity and freedom intended for the heart of every woman and man.

Prayer

Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;
in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.

Thoroughly wash away my guilt; and from my sin cleanse me.

For I know my transgressions;
my sin is always before me.

Against you, you alone have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your eyes

So that you are just in your word,
and without reproach in your judgment.

Behold, I was born in guilt,
in sin my mother conceived me.

Behold, you desire true sincerity;
and secretly you teach me wisdom.

Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

You will let me hear gladness and joy;

the bones you have crushed will rejoice. Turn away your face from my sins;

blot out all my iniquities. A clean heart create for me, God;

renew within me a steadfast spirit.

(Ps 51:3-12)

The Catholic Church and many other communities and organizations are committed to providing men, women, parents, and leaders with the tools they need to find freedom from pornography and help others do the same. Please visit the USCCB-run webpage http://www.usccb.org/cleanheart for an updated selection of resources related to this statement. In general, we encourage evaluation of all resources and programs to determine whether in their teaching and practice Catholic principles are upheld. The webpage content includes the following type of resources:

•   List of support groups and recovery programs for those who have been affected by pornography: men and women who use or are addicted to pornography and their spouses and family members; men and women involved in the pornography industry; and others
•   Advice and resources for parents, grandparents, and all who work with children and young people and wish to protect their innocence
•   Preaching resources for priests and deacons
•   Internet filtering tools to block pornographic content on computers and all devicesconnected to the Internet
•   Educational resources with additional information about the harms of pornography
•   Other Catholic statements about pornography . . . and moreNOTES

  Note: Various references are cited in this statement, including scientific studies, media articles, and books meant for a popular audience. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement of an author or his or her work, or agreement with an author’s position on pornography or other moral issues, but is used for illustration of the points in the statement.

  1

Appendix

See Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.) (CCC) (Washington, DC: Libreria Editrice Vaticana [LEV]-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops [USCCB], 2000), no. 2354. For other examples of recent teaching, see also Pope St. John Paul II, Address to the Members of the Religious Alliance Against Pornography (January 30, 1992); Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Pornography and Violence in the Communications Media: A Pastoral Response (May 7, 1989); United States Catholic Conference, Statement Renewing the Mind of the Media (1998); USCCB, Catechetical Formation in Chaste Living: Guidelines for Curriculum Design and Publication

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(2008), especially 11; USCCB, Pastoral Letter Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan (2009), especially 49; and Bishop Paul S. Loverde, Pastoral Letter Bought with a Price, new ed. (March 19, 2014).
See Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Lumen Fidei (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2013), no. 37; Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2013), no. 3.

Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes (Dec. 7, 1965), no. 22, in The Documents of Vatican II, ed. Walter M. Abbott (New York: Guild Press, 1966).

4

5

6

7 8

9

10. 10  Gaudium et Spes, no. 24; see also TOB, no. 15.
11. 11  See Karol Wojtyła (Pope St. John Paul II), Love & Responsibility, trans. H. T. Willets (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993), 28-30.
12. 12  See Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Deus Caritas Est (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2006), no. 5.
13. 13  Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2015), no. 155.
14. 14  See CCC, nos. 2337-2350.
15. 15  CCC, no. 2337.
16. 16  USCCB, Catechetical Formation in Chaste Living, 7.
17. 17  Address during Meeting with Children and Young People, Pastoral Visit to Turin (June 21, 2015).
18. 18  Ibid.
19. 19  See CCC, no. 2351.
20. 20  See CCC, no. 2360.
21. 21  See CCC, nos. 2521-2524. See also Pontifical Council for the Family, The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality, no. 56.
22. 22  CCC, no. 2342.
23. 23  See CCC, nos. 2360-2379.
24. 24  See Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, no. 11.
25. 25  See CCC, nos. 385-421.
26. 26  See CCC, no. 405.
27. 27  CCC, no. 1695.
28. 28  For example, US Code, Title 18, Chapter 110, “Sexual Exploitation and Other Abuse of Children” (sections 2251- 2260A). In addition to violating applicable federal or state criminal laws, Catholic clergy may be subject to the canonical delict related to the acquisition, possession or distribution of pornographic images of children under the age of fourteen. See Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Normae gravioribus (May 21, 2010), Article 6, §1, 2o.
29. 29  CCC, no. 2354.
30. 30  See CCC, nos. 1854-1864, esp. no. 1860. Also see CCC, no. 2352 on masturbation and the evaluation of the subject’s moral responsibility.
31. 31  Authentic art seeks to communicate truth and beauty and lead the viewer to contemplation. When it depicts the human body or a relationship of love, it may include their sexual aspects, but not in an exaggerated way so as to obscure the subject as a whole. Pornography, in contrast, reduces the persons portrayed to their sexual attributes, with the purpose of provoking sensuous craving in the viewer. See Wojtyła, Love and Responsibility, 192-193. For

2 3

See CCC, nos. 261-263.
See Pope St. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (Washington, DC: USCCB, 1982), no. 11.

See CCC, no. 2392.
See CCC, nos. 362-365.
Congregation for Catholic Education, Educational Guidance in Human Love (1983), no. 22f., quoting Pope St. John Paul II, General Audience Address of January 9, 1980. The latter can be found in John Paul II, Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body (hereafter TOB), trans. Michael Waldstein (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2006), no. 14:4. See also USCCB, United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2006), 412-413.

See, for example, TOB, nos. 13-15, Familiaris Consortio, no. 37, and Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor (Washington, DC: USCCB, 1993), no. 15. See also Pontifical Council for the Family, The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality (1995), no. 10; USCCB, United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, 412-413.

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Catholic explanations of art, see CCC, no. 2501; Pope St. John Paul II, Letter to Artists (April 4, 1999); and Pope

Benedict XVI, Address to Artists (Nov. 21, 2009).

32. 32  See USCCB, Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan, 48-49.
33. 33  CCC, no. 2354.
34. 34  See section below on the victims of pornography.
35. 35  See CCC, nos. 1859, 1874.
36. 36  CCC, no. 1874.
37. 37  See CCC, no. 2352.
38. 38  See Peter C. Kleponis, Integrity Restored: Helping Catholic Families Win the Battle Against Pornography(Steubenville, Ohio: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2014), 38-41; and William M. Struthers, Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2009), 169-174.
39. 39  See Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, esp. no. 123; Address to the European Parliament (Nov. 25, 2014); and Address to a Delegation from the Dignitatis Humanae Institute (Dec. 7, 2013).
40. 40  Gaudium et Spes, no. 4.
41. 41  See CCC, no. 1869; Gaudium et Spes, no. 25; Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the SocialDoctrine of the Church (Washington, DC: LEV-USCCB, 2004), no. 119; Pope St. John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (December 30, 1987), nos. 36-37, and Reconciliatio et Paenitentia (December 2, 1984), no. 16.
42. 42  See Noel J. Bouché, “Exploited: Sex Trafficking, Porn Culture, and the Call to a Lifestyle of Justice,” (pureHOPE, 2009); and Pornography: Driving the Demand in International Sex Trafficking, ed. David E. Guinn and Julie DiCaro (Los Angeles: Captive Daughters Media, 2007).
43. 43  See USCCB Committee on Migration, On Human Trafficking (2007). See also Pope Francis, “Address to Participants in the International Conference on Combating Human Trafficking” (April 20, 2014). The ongoing work of the USCCB Anti-Trafficking Program can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/about/anti-trafficking-program/.
44. 44  Melissa Farley, “Renting an Organ for Ten Minutes: What Tricks Tell Us about Prostitution, Pornography, and Trafficking,” in Pornography: Driving the Demand in International Sex Trafficking, 144-152.
45. 45  US Department of State, Trafficking Victims Protection Act (2000, and subsequent reauthorizations)
46. 46  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, webpage “HIV Risk among Adult Sex Workers in the United States” (June 11, 2015): “There is a strong link between sex work and drug and alcohol use”; M. Javanbakht et. al., “Adult Film Performers: Transmission Behaviors and STI Prevalence,” paper presented at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention STD Prevention Conference (2014); and J.D. Griffith et. al., “Pornography Actresses: An Assessment of the Damaged Goods Hypothesis,” The Journal of Sex Research 50.7 (2013): 621-632.
47. 47  J. Peter and P.M. Valkenburg, “Adolescents’ Exposure to a Sexualized Media Environment and Their Notions of Women as Sex Objects,” Sex Roles 56 (2007): 381-395.
48. 48  Maria Morrow, “Pornography and Penance,” Leaving and Coming Home: New Wineskins for Catholic Sexual Ethics, ed. David Cloutier (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2010), 70.
49. 49  See American Psychological Association, “Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls: Executive Summary” (2007, updated 2010).
50. 50  C. Sun, A. Bridges, J. Johnason and M. Ezzell, “Pornography and the Male Sexual Script: An Analysis of Consumption and Sexual Relations,” Archives of Sexual Behavior (published online December 2014).
51. 51  Ana Bridges et. al., “Aggression and sexual behavior in best-selling pornography videos: A Content analysis update,” Violence Against Women 16 (October 2010): 1065-1085.
52. 52  C.A. Simmons, P. Lehmann and S. Collier-Tennison, “Linking male use of the sex industry to controlling behavior in violent relationships: An exploratory analysis,” Violence Against Women 14 (2008): 406-417; and Janet Hinson Shoppe, “When words are not enough: The search for the effect of pornography on abused women,” Violence Against Women 10 (2004): 56-72.
53. 53  See Barrie Gunter, Media and the Sexualization of Childhood (New York: Routledge, 2014).
54. 54  Pamela Paul, Pornified: How Pornography is Damaging Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families (New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2005), 163. In an independent poll commissioned by the author and conducted by Harris Interactive, 34% of women and 17% of men equated viewing pornography with cheating. 41% of men and 18% of women said that pornography should never be considered cheating. More recent surveys have confirmed the same trends: ChristianMingle.com and JDate.com, “State of Dating in America” (2014) and MSNBC.com survey (2007).

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55. 55  Pamela Paul, “From Pornography to Porno to Porn: How Porn Became the Norm,” The Social Costs of Pornography: A Collection of Papers, ed. James R. Stoner, Jr., and Donna M. Hughes (Witherspoon Institute: 2010): 3-20, at 8-9.
56. 56  See, for example, Pope Francis’s Message for the 48th World Communication Day (June 1, 2014) and Pope Benedict XVI’s Message for the 47th World Communications Day (May 12, 2013). See also the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, The Church and Internet and Ethics in Internet (February 22, 2002).
57. 57  Studies have shown what is known as the Coolidge Effect, that exposure to new sexual images causes renewed sexual interest, largely due to an increase in the neurotransmitter dopamine. See E. Koukounas and R. Over, “Changes in the magnitude of the eyeblink startle response during habituation of sexual arousal,” Behavior Research and Therapy 38.6 (2000): 573-584; and Philip Zimbardo and Nikita D. Coulombe, Man (Dis)connected: How technology has sabotaged what it means to be male (London: Rider, 2015): 113-114.
58. 58  See Paul M. Barrett, “The new republic of porn,” Bloomberg Businessweek (June 21, 2012). Exact numbers are impossible to calculate because many pornography companies are privately owned, and there is disagreement about what “counts” as pornography. Further, Barrett reports that between 2007 and 2011, global revenues from pornography may have been reduced by half due to the availability of free pornography online.
59. 59  US Code, Title 18, Chapter 71, “Obscenity” (sections 1460-1470); and Chapter 110, “Sexual Exploitation and Other Abuse of Children” (sections 2251-2260A). For an explanation of these laws, and an example of advocacy for more consistent enforcement of them, see the website http://waronillegalpornography.com/laws/, a project of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (formerly Morality in Media).
60. 60  For example, there is the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association of the “adult entertainment” industry in the United States. See the work of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which advocates for strong anti- pornography laws.
61. 61  Ana Bridges et. al., “Aggression and sexual behavior in best-selling pornography videos.”
62. 62  Recent surveys include the Relationships in America survey (2014) sponsored by The Austin Institute for the Study of Family and Culture, which found that 43% of men (26% of weekly Church attendees) and 9% of women accessed pornography in the past week; and the ProvenMen.org Pornography Addiction Survey (2014) conducted by the Barna Group, which found that 64% of men view pornography monthly (55% of married men), and 29% of young men (18-30) view it daily.
63. 63  According to the Pew Research Center, from 2007 to 2013, the number of women who reported watching “adult videos” grew from 1% to 8%. See Pew Internet & American Life Project, “Online Video” (2007), p.18, and Pew Research Center, “Online Video 2013” (2013), 3. The Relationships in America survey found that pornography use is more common among younger women: 19% of women under 30 reported accessing pornography in the past week, compared to 3% of women in their 50s.
64. 64  See Relationships in America, 27.
65. 65  Kleponis, Integrity Restored, 116, citing “Pornography Statistics,” Family Safe Media (2010). See also Chiara Sabina et. al., “The nature and dynamics of Internet pornography exposure for youth,” Cyberpsychology and Behavior 11 (2008): 691-693.
66. 66  Struthers, Wired for Intimacy, 84-85.
67. 67  J. Brian Bransfield, Overcoming Pornography Addiction: A Spiritual Solution (New York: Paulist Press, 2013), 16-20.
68. 68  Viewing pornography has been shown to interfere with short-term memory: C. Laier, F.P. Schulte, and M. Brand, “Pornographic Picture Processing Interferes with Working Memory Performance,” The Journal of Sex Research 50.7 (2013): 642-652.
69. 69  T.E. Kasper, M.B. Short and A.C. Milam, “Narcissism and Internet Pornography Use,” Sex & Marital Therapy 41.5 (2015): 481-486. This study found that the hours spent watching pornography was positively correlated to a higher narcissism level in participants. Narcissism refers to a person’s inflated sense of self-importance, a deep need for admiration, and a lack of empathy for others.
70. 70  Regular use of pornography has been shown to correlate with support of marriage redefinition, as well as criticism of marriage in general: Mark Regnerus, “Porn Use and Supporting Same-Sex Marriage,” Public Discourse (Dec. 20, 2012); and P.J. Wright and A.K. Randall, “Pornography Consumption, Education, and Support for Same-Sex Marriage Among Adult U.S. Males,” Communication Research 41.5 (July 2014): 665-689.

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71. 71  For first-person narratives of women who struggled with pornography use and addiction, and found healing, see Delivered: True Stories of Men and Women Who Turned from Porn to Purity, ed. Matt Fradd (San Diego: Catholic Answers Press, 2013).
72. 72  See Kleponis, Integrity Restored, 79; Steven E. Rhoads, Taking Sex Differences Seriously (San Francisco: Encounter Books, 2004), 51-52; and Ogi Ogasa and Sai Gaddam, A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the Internet Tells Us About Sexual Relationships (New York: Plume, 2011). As a recent example, women constituted 80% of buyers of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy (Bowker Market Research’s Books & Consumer monthly survey, November 2012). See also A. Bonomi, et. al., “Fiction or Not? Fifty Shades is Associated with Health Risks in Adolescents and Young Adult Females,” Journal of Women’s Health 23.9 (Aug 2014): 720-728, which found that young adult women who read Fifty Shades of Grey were more likely than non-readers to exhibit signs of eating disorders and have a verbally abusive boyfriend.
73. 73  See Bransfield, Overcoming Pornography Addiction, 28-30; and Kleponis, Integrity Restored, 33-57.
74. 74  Scientific research on this phenomenon include Valerie Voon, et. al., “Neural Correlates of Sexual Cue Reactivity in Individuals with and without Compulsive Sexual Behavior,” PLOS ONE 9.7 (2014); Simone Kühn and Jürgen Gallinat, “Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity Associated With Pornography Consumption: The Brain on Porn,” JAMA Psychiatry 71.7 (2014): 827-834; D.L. Hilton, “Pornography addiction – a supranormal stimulus considered in the context of neuroplasticity,” Socioaffective Neuroscience & Psychology 3 (2013); and D.L. Hilton and C. Watts, “Pornography addiction: a neuroscience perspective,” Surgical Neurology International 2.19 (2011). See also Struthers, Wired for Intimacy, 83-111; and Morgan Bennett, “The New Narcotic,” Public Discourse (October 9, 2013).
75. 75  See Mark R. Laaser, Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004).
76. 76  For the link between pornography use and prostitution, see Mary Anne Layden, “Pornography and Violence: A NewLook at the Research,” The Social Costs of Pornography, 57-68, at 66.
77. 77  See note 30 above.
78. 78  By age 5, half of kids go online daily; by age 13, three-quarters of kids have a mobile phone. On average, 15-to-18year olds spend at least an hour per day consuming media on their phones: Covenant Eyes, “Protecting Your Family Online: A How-To Guide for Parents” (2013). 71% of teens have done something to hide what they do online from their parents: Jamie Le, “The Digital Divide: How the Online Behavior of Teens is Getting Past Parents,” McAfee.com (June 2012).
79. 79  See note 65 above.
80. 80  Chiara Sabina et. al., “The nature and dynamics of Internet pornography exposure for youth,”; L.M. Jones, K.J. Mitchell, and D. Filkelhor, “Trends in youth internet victimization: Findings from three youth internet safety surveys 2000-2010,” Journal of Adolescent Health 50 (2012): 179-186.
81. 81  Christina Coleman. “Some parents angry about graphic sex education book,” USA Today (May 6, 2014); Veronica Rocha, “Textbook shelved after sex toy, bondage topics spark protest,” L.A. Times (August 11, 2014).
82. 82  See Internet Watch Foundation, “Emerging Patterns and Trends Report #1: Youth-Produced Sexual Content,” (March 10, 2015); K. Martinez-Prather and D.M. Vandiver, “Sexting among Teenagers in the United States: A Retrospective Analysis of Identifying Motivating Factors, Potential Targets, and the Role of a Capable Guardian,” International Journal of Cyber Criminology 8.1 (Jan-June 2014): 21-35; and Amanda Lenhart, “Teens and Sexting,” Pew Research Center (Dec. 15, 2009). Sexting is also becoming more common among adults over 18: Amanda Lenhart and Maeve Duggan, “Couples, the Internet, and Social Media,” Pew Research Center (Feb. 11, 2014).
83. 83  Jeff R. Temple, et al., “Teen sexting and its association with sexual behaviors,” Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 166.9 (Sept 2012): 828-833.
84. 84  Justin Jouvenal, “Teen ‘sexting’ case goes to trial in Fairfax County,” Washington Post (April 17, 2013); Michelle Miller and Phil Hirschkorn, “‘Sexting’ Leads to Child Porn Charges for Teens,” CBS News (June 5, 2010). For legal analysis of this issue, see Mary G. Leary, “Self Produced Child Pornography: The Appropriate Societal Response to Juvenile Self-Sexual Exploitation,” Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law 15.1 (2008).
85. 85  Randi Kaye, “How a cell phone picture led to girl’s suicide,” CNN (October 7, 2010); “Jessica Logan Suicide: Parents of Dead Teen Sue School, Friends Over Sexting Harassment,” Huffington Post (March 18, 2010).
86. 86  Pornography is also used by perpetrators to make children and youth feel complicit and therefore less likely to report abuse.

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87. 87  M. Flood, “The Harms of Pornography Exposure Among Children and Young People,” Child Abuse Review 18 (2009): 384-400.
88. 88  J. Peter and P.M. Valkenburg, “Adolescents’ exposure to a sexualized media environment.”
89. 89  Jill Manning, “Hearing on pornography’s impact on marriage & the family,” US Senate Hearing (November 10,2005); and M. Flood, “The Harms of Pornography Exposure.”
90. 90  Manning, Hearing; and J. Brown and K. L’Engle, “X-Rated: Sexual attitudes and behaviors associated with U.S. early adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit media,” Communication Research 36 (2009): 129-151.
91. 91  Risky sexual behavior includes having more sex partners and using alcohol or drugs during sexual encounters. D. Braun-Courville and M. Rojas, “Exposure to sexually explicit web sites and adolescent sexual attitudes and behaviors,” Journal of Adolescent Health 45 (2009): 156-162.
92. 92  Manning, Hearing, citing Robert E. Freeman-Longo, “Children, teens, and sex on the Internet,” Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity 7 (2000): 75-90.
93. 93  American Psychological Association, “Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls.”
94. 94  M. Ybarra et. al., “X-rated material and perpetration of sexually aggressive behavior among children and adolescents: is there a link?” Aggressive Behavior 37.1 (2011): 1-18; J. Brown and K. L’Engle, “X-Rated”; and S. Bonino, et. al., “Use of Pornography and Self-Reported Engagement in Sexual Violence Among Adolescents,” European Journal of Developmental Psychology 3.3 (2006): 265-288.
95. 95  US Code, Title 18, Chapter 110, “Sexual Exploitation and Other Abuse of Children” (sections 2251-2260A). See also note 28 above.
96. 96  US Department of State, Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
97. 97  For more information about circumstances that make children vulnerable to being used in child pornography, see ECPAT International, “Questions & Answers about the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children,” 4th edition (2008): 25-29.
98. 98  See USCCB, Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan, 48-49.
99. 99  Patrick F. Fagan, “The Effects of Pornography on Individuals, Marriage, Family, and Community,” Marriage and Religion Research Institute (December 2009); Jonathan Dedmon, “Is the Internet bad for your marriage?” Online affairs, pornographic sites playing greater role in divorces,” Press Release (2003) re: report from American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers; and Pamela Paul, “The Porn Factor,” TIME Magazine (January 19, 2004).
100. 100  Barbara A. Steffens and Robyn L. Rennie, “The traumatic nature of disclosure for wives of sexual addicts,” Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity 13 (2006); Barbara A. Steffens and Marsha Means, Your sexually addicted spouse: How partners can cope and heal (2009); and Kleponis, Integrity Restored, 102-110.
101. 101  Paul J. Wright et. al., “More than a dalliance? Pornography consumption and extramarital sex attitudes among married U.S. adults,” Psychology of Popular Media Culture 3.2 (2014): 97-109; and S. Stack, I. Wasserman, and R. Kern, “Adult Social Bonds and Use of Internet Pornography,” Social Science Quarterly 85 (2004): 75-88.
102. 102  Paul J. Wright et. al., “More than a dalliance?”; Ana J. Bridges, “Pornography’s Effects on Interpersonal Relationships,” The Social Costs of Pornography, 89-110, at 104-106; and Jennifer P. Schneider, “Effects of cybersex addiction on the family: Results of a survey,” Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity 7 (2000): 34-58. Note that in contrast, one study found that happily married people were 61% less likely to report having viewed pornography in the last thirty days (S. Stack, “Adult Social Bonds”).
103. 103  Valerie Voon, et. al., “Neural Correlates of Sexual Cue Reactivity”: this study, cited above, found greater than average sexual impairment and dysfunction among male compulsive pornography users (average age = 25) in their intimate relationships, although not when using pornographic material. See also Kleponis, Integrity Restored, 66-67; Zimbardo, Man Dis(connected), 107-110; Gary Wilson, Your Brain on Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction (UK: Commonwealth, 2014), 27-36; and Gary Wilson, “Why do I find porn more exciting than a partner? Neuroscience reveals how Internet porn can trump real sex,” Psychology Today (Jan. 17, 2012).
104. 104  C. Sun, et. al., “Pornography and the Male Sexual Script”; and Eunjung Ryu, “Spousal Use of Pornography and Its Clinical Significance for Asian-American Women: Korean Women as an Illustration,” Journal of Feminist Family Theory 16.4 (2004): 75-89.

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105. 105  Michael Malcolm and George Naufal, “Are Pornography and Marriage Substitutes for Young Men?” Institute for the Study of Labor (November 2014); and Mark Regnerus and Jeremy Uecker, Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate, and Think About Marrying (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 93-100.
106. 106  Pornography use has been shown to be correlated with greater acceptance of sex before marriage in general: J.S. Carroll, et. al., “Generation XXX: Pornography acceptance and use among emerging adults,” Journal of Adolescent Research 23.1 (2008): 6-30; and P.J. Wright, “American’s attitudes toward premarital sex and pornography consumption: a national panel analysis,” Archive of Sexual Behavior 44.1 (Jan 2015): 89-97.
107. 107  Pope Francis, Lenten Message for 2014 (December 26, 2013).
108. 108  As quoted in Antonio Spadaro, S.J., “A Big Heart Open to God: The exclusive interview with Pope Francis,”America (Sept. 30, 2013).
109. 109  See Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, no. 3, and Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy Misericordiae Vultus (April 11, 2015).
110. 110  See USCCB, When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence (1992, reissued 2002).
111. 111  In cases where there is a pattern of ongoing, violent abuse, healing a marriage may not be possible. As already stated, it is vital to remove oneself from any danger, to ensure one’s safety and the safety of one’s children, and to seek appropriate help and support.
112. 112  Pope St. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae (Washington, DC: USCCB, 1995), no. 97. See also the Pontifical Council for the Family, “The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality: Guidelines for Education within the Family” (December 8, 1995).
113. 113  The Charter and other information about the Church’s work to protect children and young people can be found at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/child-and-youth-protection/charter.cfm.