Bishop reaches out against porn addiction

Bunbury's Catholic Bishop Gerard Holohan is reaching out to those with an unhealthy relationship with internet pornography, saying the issue is a growing problem in rural WA.

In a letter sent out to his parishioners, Bishop Holohan encouraged those who are “addicted to internet pornography” to seek help.

He urged Catholics to do all they could to help those affected and warned watching pornography could cause brain damage and relationship problems.

Curtin University sexologist Matt Tilley said it was encouraging that a religious institution was creating dialogue about the issue.

But “porn addiction” was a contentious diagnosis which was last year refuted by the American Psychiatric Association, he said.

He said repeatedly watching pornography, to a point where it was unhelpful or unhealthy, was better described as a “compulsivity”.

A sexology lecturer at Curtin’s School of Public Health, Mr Tilley said compulsively watching pornography could disrupt a person’s life and relationships.

He said there was no evidence it was a growing problem in rural WA and no evidence watching it caused brain damage.

“Anecdotally, we can say porn consumption has increased with the internet and internet speeds,” he said.

He said watching pornography became a problem when it affected the person’s goals, their relationships or work or became a financial cost they could not maintain.

The Bishop said people needed to understand, not judge, the plight of people addicted to pornography.

“Be they our spouse, a family member or a friend, we need to recognise that now they suffer brain damage they probably cannot restore to health on their own,” he said.

The Bishop advocated stronger government restrictions on free online pornography, particularly to protect children.

“It is extraordinary that such a harmful product is so freely available,” he wrote.

“It is difficult to believe that advocates of freely accessible pornography understand its harmful effects on a growing proportion of our society, particularly in rural WA.”

Mr Tilley said it was important to discuss internet pornography and religious opinions and views played a role in that debate.

“We know people begin using porn in their adolescence and we need to assist these young people to navigate the minefield of the internet,” he said.

“There are unhelpful behaviours learnt from porn, what is sexually acceptable and unrealistic expectations about sex.”