This year on April 5 and 6, the Diocese of Columbus will once again participate in Safe Haven Sunday. This is the third year of creating awareness in our Diocese about the dangers of pornography. As I have said in the past, pornography is one of the leading causes of addiction, adultery, divorce and human trafficking. Pornography creates an unsafe environment for children and produces distorted attitudes toward the body, sex and marriage. It is devastating to marriages and families, damaging society and the common good. The effects of this distorted view of human life can be seen in the devastation of human trafficking and the abortion industries. Our announcement of the Gospel of Life is a proclamation about the dignity of all human life and the gift of sexuality. All people should be treated with dignity and respect, worthy of love and not reduced to an object to be viewed or used for pleasure.
As a Church, we have a specific responsibility for the care and protection of young people, and we must confront this issue so that our young people may be both safe and free. We cannot afford to ignore the problem. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ statement, Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography, states, “We must see our role in protecting children from pornography as our sacred duty, as well as an aspect of our work to create safe environments in accord with our ongoing implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”
Together we can address this issue by teaching those who have been entrusted to our care about pornography’s effects and to share resources with them. The Safe Haven Sunday initiative on April 5 and 6 will give us the opportunity to once again address the harmfulness of pornography in marriages, families and the culture as a whole while providing helpful resources to both individuals and families.
Each year for Safe Haven Sunday, there is a specific focus on resources to address the concerns of protecting people from pornography. This year, the specific focus is to help parents have a conversation with their children to address the concerns about pornography. Today more than ever, children have access to pornographic images on social media, the internet and through the advances in AI. The use of pornography causes increasing isolation in young people, developmental concerns, long-term mental health and relationship issues. The effects of pornography carry into adulthood and can cause long-term issues. We must do all that we can to protect the vulnerable and correct our own failings.
The second reading this weekend is from Romans 8:8-11 and tells us,
Brothers and sisters:
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.
On the Fifth Sunday of Lent this year, two options are given for the Gospel: the raising of Lazarus and the women caught in adultery. Sometimes, especially with addictive behaviors, we feel closed in a tomb, more dead than alive in our sinfulness, yet the Lord calls to us: “Come forth!” At other times, we feel shame and guilt because of our sins, but Jesus said to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you, but go and sin no more.”
There is always hope for us. During this Jubilee Year – a year of mercy, forgiveness and renewal, we are “pilgrims of hope.” The priests throughout the Diocese of Columbus are here to provide help and support through the Sacraments to help you overcome the addiction of pornography. As we hear in the Responsorial Psalm this weekend, “With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.” The Lord waits to offer His mercy and redemption to you through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.
To help you receive this Sacrament, Monday April 14, will be Reconciliation Monday at many parishes in the Diocese of Columbus. This day is often one last opportunity for confession before we enter the Paschal Triduum and Easter. This is a Sacrament of healing. You can come to the Lord who wants to heal you from addiction and sin and receive His offer of mercy and grace to strengthen you.
On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, we continue with our prayer, fasting and almsgiving and are moving closer to the joy of the Resurrection at Easter. This is an opportune time to be forgiven, grow closer to the Lord and receive His mercy.
You can find all of the resources and download the Covenant Eyes book for this year, Confident: Helping Parents Navigate Online Exposure on the Diocese of Columbus website by visiting columbuscatholic.org/safe-haven.