Pope Francis condemns pornography as ‘a language of the devil’

Pope Francis during the 500th general audience of his pontificate, held in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 25, 2024, spoke about pornography and how to avoid the temptation to sin. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Pope Francis walks to his chair for the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Sept. 25, 2024. The pope spoke softly and had to pause occasionally to cough after canceling two meetings earlier in the week due to what the Vatican said was a “mild flu-like condition.” | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

By Hannah Brockhaus

Vatican City, Sep 25, 2024 / 05:55 am

Pope Francis at his general audience on Wednesday called pornography a work of the devil and warned Christians to reject this and other temptations accessed through the internet.

“Any cellphone has access to this brutality, this language of the devil,” the pope said at the weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 25.

While modern technology has many positive resources to appreciate, he noted, it also gives the devil an opportunity to tempt us, “and many people fall for it.”

“Think of internet pornography, which there is a thriving market behind,” he continued. “We all know the devil works there.”

Pope Francis during the 500th general audience of his pontificate spoke about pornography and how to avoid the temptation to sin.

Addressing thousands at the Vatican, he said pornography “is a very widespread phenomenon, but one that Christians must be very careful to guard against and strongly reject.”