The My House Initiative | Jim Graves | Special Report for Catholic World Report
Archbishop Joseph Naumann’s anti-pornography effort
Five years ago, Dr. Jerry Kirk, founder and chairman of the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families, contacted Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas about launching an initiative to protect families from pornography. Since polling data has shown that many Christians active in their churches admitted to struggling with pornography, the idea was to launch ministries geared toward helping Christians live the virtue of chastity.
Archbishop Naumann was receptive to the idea, but he wanted an apostolate that incorporated Catholic teaching and practice, including Pope John Paul II’s teachings on the theology of the body and the sacrament of penance. Out of this came the Archdiocese of Kansas City’s My House Initiative.
The purpose of the initiative is to raise awareness about the problem of pornography, to offer resources about the Church’s vision of human sexuality through the theology of the body, and to provide support and healing for those who are struggling with pornography. The prototype program has already been adopted by six other dioceses, with more than 20 other bishops expressing interest.
“When I was a child, there were social barriers that protected the young from pornography,” Archbishop Naumann said. “But in this age of personal computers and cable television, we have an entirely different environment.”
The extent of pornography use by Americans is staggering. Deacon Ralph Poyo of the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, founder of New Evangelization Ministries and himself a recovered pornography addict, compiled these statistics:
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