Pope says ‘sex is a gift of God’, threatened by pornography

Pope Francis told a general catechetical audience this Wednesday that “sex is a gift of God” but is “threatened by pornography.”

“The sexual instinct is not condemned in Christianity. The book of Song of Songs from the Bible is a wonderful love poem between two lovers. However, this beautiful sexual dimension is not without dangers,” he said, as quoted by the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

The Supreme Pontiff explained that “love, untainted by vice, is one of the purest feelings.” “Sexual pleasure is threatened by pornography: satisfaction without relationships that can lead to addiction.”

“A person in love becomes generous, gladly gives gifts, writes letters and poems. He stops thinking about himself and completely projects himself onto others.”

However, the Pope reminds that all this “may be infected with a particularly disgusting vice.” “How many relationships start out great and turn into toxic relationships?” This is a relationship that lacked chastity: a virtue that should not be confused with sexual abstinence, but as the desire to never possess another,” he added.

Francisco says sex should “engage all the senses” but must be “patiently disciplined.”