Priests and nuns watch Internet porn, Pope Francis admitted while speaking with seminarians in Rome on Monday.
Pope Francis said Internet porn was a ‘vice’ shared between members of the church.
“It is a vice that many people have, many laymen, many laywomen, and also priests and nuns,” said the 86-year-old Pope.
“The Devil gets in that way.
“And I’m not just talking about criminal pornography like that involving the abuse of children, that is already degeneration.
“But pornography that is a little ‘normal,’”
He cautioned priests and nuns, saying: “Dear brothers, be careful about this.”
Pornography, he said, was “a vice that so many people have . . . even priests and nuns”.
As to how to navigate social media and the digital world, he said that they should be used but told them not to waste too much time on it.
“The pure heart, the one that Jesus receives every day, cannot receive this pornographic information,” he said.
He advised the group to “delete this from your phone, so you will not have temptation in hand”.
Church teaching sees pornography as an offence against chastity.
The Pope made the remarks on Monday, according to ANSA.
Catholic priests and nuns are forbidden from watching pornography, with the Catechism defining sexual imagery as an ‘offence against chastity’ under article 2354.
In 2020, Pope Francis’ Instagram account appeared to ‘like’ a racy photo of a Brazilian bikini model dressed in stockings and suspenders.
The model, Natalie Garibotto, said the pontiff’s verified Franciscus account was among the thousands that liked the October 5 image.
But the account subsequently ‘unliked’ the photo, shortly before the Vatican said it was launching an inquiry.
“At least I’m going to heaven,” she joked after the incident dew attention on social media.
The Brazilian model’s management said Garibotto had “received the Pope’s official blessing.”
The Pope’s social media accounts are managed by a team. – BBC/Mailonline.
