VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis I condemned all pornography as “the crudest commercialization of love” during a meeting on Thursday with students and with bishops responsible for Catholic schools.
The pope spoke during a video conference with participants in the Vatican’s Scholas Occurrentes organization, which the Catholic Review described as a global education initiative that “connects underdeveloped schools to those with more resources.” Francis has supported the group since his tenure as archbishop of Buenos Aires.
Francis took questions from “students and one elderly person” via video calls from Colombia, Mexico, Spain and the United States, the Catholic Review reported.
Following up on a statement where he appeared to support some form of sexual education in schools, the 86-year-old celibate Argentine priest formerly known as Jorge Bergoglio lamented that young people are learning about sexuality from pornography.
“Pornography is the crudest commercialization of love,” he told the youth. “How often, for lack of sexual education, do they end up with the commercialization of love. Love is not to be commercialized.”
As XBIZ reported, Francis can currently be seen speaking to young people in a propagandistic documentary streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. The documentary features a segment in which an adult content creator tells the head of the Catholic Church about her positive experience with sex work. Pope Francis then expresses his opinions about pornography, including his belief that it is addictive like drugs and alcohol, and leaves those who use it “diminished as humans.”
Today’s Scholas Occurrentes meeting included a link-up with a group of students in the United States and video greetings from the bishops of several U.S. cities, including Cardinals Wilton D. Gregory of Washington and Timothy M. Dolan of New York, and Archbishops José H. Gomez of Los Angeles and Thomas G. Wenski of Miami.
The meeting took place only a few days after the Illinois Attorney General substantiated child abuse claims against Catholic clergy in the state by more than 1,900 victims.