Pope John Paul II

I was reading a newspaper article the other day about a meeting between many leaders in the Catholic Church.  One of the topics the leaders agreed upon universally, was

the destructive effects of pornography, and how even though people involved in it, both in its production and consumption, may be adults and consenting to it, it is still destructive to them, to individuals and to society.  These leaders clarified that they defined pornography not just as visual images, but as written words as well and any media that is created for the purpose of sexually arousing its consumers.  These leaders also agreed that "Pornography is not art."

Speaking against it, and in favor of self-control and respect for self and others, Pope John Paul II once said:  "The opposite of love is not hate but rather using a person as if he or she were a object.To love others is to recognize them as the gift they are, to seek what is truly good and best for them and never to use them and thereby objectify them as something less than persons." Pope John Paul II, I think, was wise to say that.  Showing disrespect towards oneself and towards others may not always result in felonies being committed, but it always results in a person dehumanizing himself, and desensitizing himself to the humanity in others, thereby decreasing his overall ability to be happy with life and relationships.

I'm not Catholic, but I think that Pope John Paul II and the current Pope, Pope Francis are very wise men whose advice applies to all of humanity.