We live in reductionist times, which is another way of saying that we live in times that have often cast aside the deeper, sacramental, and mysterious meaning of people and things.
Many human beings reduce themselves and others to merely biological realities. Gone is the soul and the mysterious spark we call life. Gone is the metaphysical; there is only the physical. Even our longings, our thirst and hunger for justice, our attraction to what is good, true, and beautiful—even these soulful expressions and their reach for what is not material are “understood” by many today merely as emanations of the chemicals in our brain.
It is all such a sad and reduced understanding of the human person. Somehow many see us as a merely biological “machine.”
Yet even among those who accept the existence of the soul, there is another reductionist tendency of seeing the body merely as a tool, or something we have, rather than something we are, in mysterious union with our soul.
I read today a beautiful description of the glory of the human person and also of the problem of reductionism. It is by Anthony Esolen, and appears in his book Defending Marriage – Twelve Arguments for Sanity. It is an excellent book—well worth reading—and from which I shall excerpt more next week. Regarding the human person, Esolen writes,
The human body is a precious thing, worthy of our reverence. It is not a tool, not an object of consumption like a steak or a keg of beer, not an animate provider of pleasure. It is the outward expression of a profound mystery, that of another human being. When we meet another human person, when we look at his or her face, we are in the presence of a creature whose like we have never found in all the rest of the universe. The human person is open to infinity … He can do more than apprehend the things he observes, he can imagine worlds he has never seen … honor and reverence is due to the astounding mystery of the human person … It is a contradiction to say, “I honor the human person,” while treating the human body as separable from the person using it as a tool, devouring [pornographic] images of it … One cannot at once love the beautiful and desire to defile it. It is like loving the Pieta with an ax (P. 51).
Yes, here is the glory of the human person and the human body: mysterious, wonderful, unique, and loved by God long before he or she was ever conceived (cf Jer 1:5).
When some speak to me in confession of their struggle with pornography, I often ask them to remember, before paging through hundreds of images of bodies and body parts, that there is a person “attached” to each of those bodies. And that person has had something go very wrong in her life that she would be led to expose the intimate parts of her body to be seen by those who should not.
She is someone’s daughter and she is God’s daughter. Surely at age ten she never dreamed of making her first porn pics while some stranger “did” her. Something in her life went very wrong, something worth grieving. Yes, there is a person “attached” to that body, and though the purveyors of pornography may seek to airbrush them away, the tracks of her tears are still there, seen and known by God.
Those who would victimize others or “consume” them like a product must first dehumanize them. And that is where reductionism comes in. The consumer of pornography must reduce the woman, whom he is actually consuming and using, to a body, to an image or picture. But she is not merely a body or a picture. She is a woman, a daughter, a sister; she is loved by God and something tragically awful has occurred in her life to cause her to take a turn down a very long and dark back alley.
Consider this well if you have a problem with porn, or know someone who does. Whatever the consumer of porn may think he is looking at, what he is actually looking at is a human person. He is also looking at a tragedy, a deeply sad portrait of a daughter of God who deserves more—so much more—than to be consumed as a product for sale. Yes, she is a human person. As Esolen says above, she is a person “whose like we have never found in all the rest of the universe … [to whom] honor and reverence is due [for] the astounding mystery of [her] person.”
Reflect on these things before you click over to that porn site or do that image search; think and pray a great deal.
Here is a portrait of the life of one of God’s daughters. Her earthly father must also love her very much to put together this tribute to her. These are the pictures, taken in love, that every daughter deserves.
Dear Msgr Charles
Thank you for this all-important reminder to all of us about the dangers of this kind of obsessive idolatry and the reasons we should always strive to think and act differently when tempted in this way.
I know your main thrust here is the evil of pornography, per se, – the evil and inappropriate ‘use’ of an image of bodies or body parts, male or female, young or older, for impure sexual gratification. But, if you would permit me, I would like to take it a step further and remind ourselves that even the most innocent-looking image of a similar subject can become, for some also, the seed to develop in the mind’s eye the same lustful thoughts and possibly actions too.
So – it isn’t always necessarily going to a porn magazine or internet site in order to satisfy lustful thoughts and actions, but maybe sometimes a simple picture of a scantily clad woman or man on holiday, on the beach, or girl or boy, can be every bit as potent, if we have an impure and undisciplined mind to make it so.
As I read your excellent piece, the words St Paul spoke to the Philippians in Chapter 4 verses 8 and 9 came to mind, and perhaps we would all do well, when tempted to look at or even create unseemly images in our own minds and/or even act upon them, to recall these words and pray for God’s help to resist the temptation:
“8. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think on these things. 9. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9.
And, if we still feel discouraged, maybe reading on to verse 13 of the same Chapter will give us the courage and grace to ‘turn again’ and think of the beautiful, pure and true. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”
God bless us all.
Ray
Thank you, Msgr. Pope, for your daily posts. I come here daily to be uplifted, guided, and strengthened by your words. I want you to know how much you are appreciated, and prayed for.
Michelle
Thank you, Msgr. Pope, for having the courage and the wisdom to address this difficult issue in Truth and Love. Would that more of our daughters not experience the kinds of abuse, trauma, and indifference that open the door of their lives to becoming the objects and prey of those who have succumbed to the world of darkness that is pornography. And as well, may we pray for the perpetrators, that they might find healing and wholeness.
I can see the point of this article and I agree very much about the sacredness of the human person and the human body. We were created by a holy and perfect God and all His creations are good and intended to be reverenced. But, the thing that bothers me about these type of articles is the emphasis on the poor, tortured, used, and abused women who expose themselves this way. Yes, they need our prayers because they are broken, messed up, and spiritually depleted women in most cases. You cannot roll in mud and not get dirty. But, for whatever reason, they CHOSE to do these things and be an instrument of temptation. There is reportedly quite a bit of money to be made to work in pornography. Also, many women have the hope this exposure will bring them fame and fortune.
They don’t always choose to do this type of thing simply because they have been abused, tortured, or had a terrible life before, although I know there are those in this industry that have had bad or difficult life situations both before and during and after a porn career.
I remember clearly when I was a junior in college walking through the student union in between classes and Playboy had set up a kiosk/display and they were recruiting girls for the “Girls of the big 12” issue. This one man walked out toward me and handed me a rose and asked if I’d like to come listen to what they were offering. He said he knew I’d like what I heard and it would be an offer I could not refuse. I told him no thanks. 3 times. But in the deli I could overhear what some of the females who were interested in doing this were talking about and believe me it was all excitement at the prospect of the attention, the money offered, and the supposed opportunities this could open up for them. So it’s not always “poor, tortured women sucked into doing this. I understand there is probably that too sometimes. I am not saying they don’t deserve respect but I am saying that in most cases they gave that respect away by their own disreputable conduct. They will each be accountable for being part of the temptation that is rotting so many souls of men and breaking up marriages and families. Yes, the men will be accountable also of course.
Fast forward years ahead and I am a wife and mother who has had my home/marriage/family torn apart because of the allure of pornography and the serial adultery that stems from this terrible addiction. My sympathy and concern goes out for the daughters of God who have had to endure watching their husbands, brothers, sons, fathers maybe, turn into zombies with cold, hard, loveless hearts because they are zoned out on porn. I see as the real victims the wives, the children who have had to suffer the betrayal and pain and loss that this brings to a family.
I don’t mean to sound uncaring for the women who stain their lives like this, but the true victims are the daughters of God who had no part in this industry and had their whole lives turned upside down because of it.
Why do you interpret my saying that their life has gone wrong as a mere declaration that they are victims pure and simple. I do not say that. They have turned down a very dark alley. When they were ten they did not dream of being porn queen. Something went wrong. You hear victim. I do not use that word. Clearly their situation is complicated, but I do not say it is sinless. That said, do not use other people’s decision, sinful or not to justify you or anyone looking at porn.
I do not look at porn. But my husband has and became very caught up in it. To the tremendous detriment of himself and to our family and marriage. I do not blame the women involved for his decision or anyone else’s decision to view this material and have affairs. The women have their part in it and the viewers have their part. I realize this.
I guess as a hurting wife I have become a little weary of hearing how the women who work in this industry are violated daughters of God and should be respected. Well yes, but they did make these choices. I guess I just feel I haven’t really come across much material concerning the violation and humiliation and harm done to the wives and families. We are daughters of God too.
Thank God for His beautiful Catholic Church because there is much healing afforded us from our faith.
Didn’t mean to offend.
My husband left me and our kids so that he could have the freedom to pursue this lifestyle. His brain became so boggled out on this that he soon refused to take care of us even at least financially. I was a stay at home mother and I ended up losing our home. I now work in the field of education again but I can only afford to keep the kids and I in a small apartment. So I took this article too personally and I realize I was not the target audience. Accept my apologies if my original comment came across as critical.
I have prayed and prayed for him and he is doing better everyday so I would like to ask for prayers also from others for his further benefit. I just so much want for him to find God and faith again.
Thank you for your comments MLS, and for sharing your experience.
I agree whole heartedly. I have known so many women and their children who are truly the fall out of this industry. I think alot of it initially stems from idleness and curiosity, to develop into soul-crushing proportiins.
Mgrs Charles Pope, very well written article, the world needs more of this. I hope you are not preaching only to the choir and that others that are in need of more strength for themselves concerning this will read and ponder this.