Monday, May 5, 2008    Text size: 

In order to reach as wide an audience as possible, the Bishops also have made a professionally-prodced video, posted on YouTube two weeks ago, that repeats the same basic admonitions, warnings and requests contained in the Pastoral Letter.

"The relative anonymity of the Internet and its private nature means that there is a real danger of pornographic addiction," the letter reads, in part. "The decentralized nature of the Internet means that much of the material available online is extreme and violent."

The Bishops call on civil authorities to "... prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials, and that includes, as far as possible, distribution on the Internet," even while conceding the remote prospect of eradicating (or making inaccessible) all adult content on the Internet.

Citing pornography's destructive influence on marriages and families, the letter urges parents to talk about the "dangers of pornography" with their children, but also stresses that "addiction to Internet pornography is no less damaging to single people or to those dedicated to living a life of celibacy."

As of today, the Bishop's YouTube video had gotten approximately 1750 views.