Pornography - sin or temptation?

[CMo97]

I was recently asked this and I wanted to get other opinions on the matter. "If while being tempted you search for pornography, but immediately upon seeing it you kick yourself and close it, did you still commit a sin? or were you just undergoing temptation’’? Curious to see others’ responses.

Obviously my immediate response would be that if you stayed to watch anything, it would be a sin, but with the distinction being drawn that it was immediately closed out of, would this change anything?

 

[bobperk]

I would say the temptation would be the thought to search for the pornography in the first place. From there, it is a conscious and deliberate act of the will to enter the search terms and click to at least get to the site. So there is at least venial sin in navigating to the site.

All of those searches and clicks contribute to the popularity and revenue for those sites, so in a way they may be supporting that terrible industry.

 

[Jehu2077]

I’ll preface this by saying that one must take these issues before their confessor (and perhaps a specialist) for aid and the freedom of absolution on their recovery journey.
Porn is an addictive drug and access to it is on any device with an internet connection. Some of us have struggled (and not struggled i.e. genuinely thought it was fine) with pornography and masturbation for almost 20 years, or since porn sites became a thing.
These things degrade consent since your human will is controlled by your brains desire for its chemical fix in these instances. The Catechism itself states this plainly http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm

However it is our duty as we grow in virtue and self- mastery to hold ourselves to a higher and higher standard. This not intentionally indulging or searching or entering into the near occasion of lust and porn.
The battle is exacting and a temptation towards scrupulosity may come as well. Be sure that you congratulate this person for that step of resistance against Satan, encourage confession and encourage them to move that goal line a little further next time.
I also recommend the Victory app and covenant eyes. NoFap.com is also a great resource.

 

[drac16]

If you saw an image of a woman/man, then yeah, there is sin involved. If you just saw text on the screen and a link, then I don’t believe that that’s a sin. Furthermore, a person’s desire to view pornography is usually being triggered by lustful images; and that’s adultery, according to Jesus.

 

[Cap123]

Hi!
When I was younger I really struggled with it. I would think about it and a strong desire of going to that website would come to me. What I notice is that if I would go to the website look at the top only (not the images, just the text) it would calm that really bad feeling of wanting to go to it because I had already reached it and then I would close it. It really helped me to get out of it till this day. I don’t think it’s a sin as you are only looking at the letters.
Blessings

 

[Catholicwife32]

The issue here is the level of consent in your will. The fact that you stopped yourself reveals a divided heart. I would say that any attempts to stop yourself are partial consents of the will. The degree of consent is a spectrum. Is it sinful? Yes, every willful decision you make toward evil is sinful. Temptation is simply the urge to sin. Not an ounce of willful choice has been made. It simply looms over us, tempting us to reach up our hand to the fruit.

The sin begins with a decision in the heart, a decision that directs our hand toward the fruit, puts our fingers on the fruit, plucks it, brings it down to our mouth, bites it, chews it, swallows it. Any hesitation or any incomplete act shows varying degrees of partial consent.

You see, the thing, people like to tell themselves that consent of the will is on or off. In doing this, they often see mortal sins where mortal sins don’t exist. Suggest to them that mortal sins are far more rare, and they get mad at you because they like believing they’re in a constant battle with mortal sin. When they go through a long period of not crossing their personal line, they feel proud of themselves and superior to others.

The line does two things. By being exclusively focused on mortal sin, venial sins become the tolerable sins, the ones you can continue to indulge in. Afterall, it’s hard enough to avoid the mortal ones, right? Who has time to focus on the venial ones? But in actuality, our attitude toward sin shouldn’t be like this game. We should seek to be as holy, choose what we’re best able to choose in every moment. Our choices will continue to be imperfect, but we must pursue holiness.

As such, when it comes to pornography, what you need to work on in your spiritual journey has to do with your level of slavery to the sin. Are you heading toward a greater level of self mastery or not? Are you progressing more and more away from sin? And are you ensuring you’re focusing on the particular virtues God wants you to work on? Sometimes we can obsess over certain sins to avoid dealing with the larger ones.

 

[Roguish]

Obviously my immediate response would be that if you stayed to watch anything, it would be a sin, but with the distinction being drawn that it was immediately closed out of, would this change anything?

I believe you’re right. It happens sometimes that when we go along with temptation initially, we change our minds only a small step further, before the sin has fully materialized. Sometimes it’s as if our conscience and better knowledge don’t quite kick into gear until we take the first step toward committing the sin. When it does, and we change our minds and turn away from pursuing it any further, I think most or all of the sin was averted.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Begins with temptation and when that temptation is acted on, becomes sin.

 

[Start]

The mind already consented so it could be mortal.

 

[Cimachol]

I was in a similar situation once and posted to a group similar to this one with the same type of question. A priest replied and reasoned that the fact that I changed my mind indicated a likelihood that my mind was not fully made up, and my will not fully committed to the act. (Force of habit was also a factor in my situation.) So, while I had sinned in initially deciding to commit the act and taking initial steps in that direction, he thought that it was probably not a mortal sin, which would require full consent, but venial sin that I might want to bring up at my next confession.