Jun 18, 2007 / 08:40 am
A Catholic apostolate is trying to help those caught in the grips of pornography addiction.
The apostolate, called Serenellians, is web-based and was begun in 2002 by Paul Rasvage, an oil refinery engineer, family man and a self-confessed pornography addict (who no longer indulges). The group got its name from Alessandro Serenelli, who killed St. Maria Goretti in a fit of lust and later repented.
"We exist to minister to those who wish to break their addiction," said the 52-year-old.
Rasvage says he does not believe legal initiatives against pornography are enough. "Just trying to stop the illicit material is not good," he explains. "You have to deal with the disordered desires, the root cause."
The website lists a number of available resources for fighting these desires, including Church teachings, documents and saints' writings. The flagship resource is a workbook, called Pure of Heart, by Rosemary Scott, which offers spiritual counsel, practical advice and meditations on chastity and purity.
For Rasvage, combating pornography and masturbation is made more difficult by the reluctance of the addicted to discuss their problem and a lack of Catholic teaching and counsel in homilies and in the confessional.
A common complaint from Catholic men is that many priests dismiss confessions of porn viewing and masturbation as "normal" or "nothing to worry about," says Rasvage.
The Serenellians website gets between 3,000 and 7,000 hits per month. Most come from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. A few are starting to come from China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and France.