By Matthew Gambino • Posted April 26, 2018

A free, one-hour webinar enabling parents and children to discuss the issue of pornography will be offered online in two session May 15 at noon and May 22 at 8 p.m.

Register in advance for the webinar here.

Titled “The Conversation,” the session will address “how to initiate age-appropriate discussion free of fear and shame, how to approach technology, social media and pornography,” according to the organizers, which include the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and the Religious Alliance Against Pornography.

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Presenters include Jasper Hall Jr., an information technology executive and Christian minister, and Dan Martin, a Christian pastor speaks frequently on issues including family, parenting marriage, Christian leadership and technology.

Since open communication between parents and children can build strong and loving relationships, parents should be equipped to talk to their kids about the harm pornography causes. The webinar will aim to provide parents with the information they need for such discussions.

The scope of harm caused by using pornography has been well documented. A 2016 study by the American College of Pediatricians of the impact of porn on children showed increased rates of depression, anxiety, violent behavior, sexual promiscuity, increased risk of teen pregnancy and a distorted view of relationships between men and women. Use of porn by adults leads to higher rates of divorce, which is also harmful to children, according to the study.  

The Catholic Church opposes pornography in all its forms. According to the catechism:

“Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials” (no. 2354).