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Call to stop the ‘new drug’ porn BY ERIN CARELSE
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OUNG people especially must be protected from pornography, “the new drug”, a Christian conference has found. The conference, titled “Stop the New Drug”, was hosted by the Biblical Christian Network of South Africa. It focused on the dangers of pornography, and the detrimental effect it has on society. Two main issues arose: the addictive properties of viewing pornography, and the exploitation of people in porn, particularly children and trafficked women and minors. Sr Melanie O’Connor HF of the CounterTrafficking in Persons Office at the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference has noted the link between pornography and human trafficking. “Trafficked women and children have been forced to act out pornography,” she told The Southern Cross. “If we care about getting rid of this terrible evil of human trafficking, then we cannot but stand against pornography as well,” she said. “Can one get gratification out of watching a trafficked child having to perform for a viewer? That could be your child, brother, sister, or relative,” Sr O’Connor said. She also expressed concern about the consumption of porn by young people, which now is easily accessible on Internet-enabled smartphones. “Our moral landscape is getting eroded when parents do not have control over what children watch on their cellphones,” said Sr O’Connor. Gregory Pereira, a member of the Biblical Christian Network, agreed. “It’s important that we protect children from pornography exposure.” He suggested a few ways in which to do so.
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“At night, parents should gather their children's cellphones to be charged, and not leave them in their rooms. Younger children can find inappropriate websites simply by mistyping a word. Installing web filters on computers will allow parents to choose which types of websites are appropriate and which types to block,” he advised. “Another way to protect children is to restrict their usage by placing computers in an open/communal area so that parents can monitor their children’s Internet and computer activity. These are just a few of the many ways that you can protect both yourself and your children and be equipped in the fight against ‘the new drug’,” he said. Mr Pereira compared the harmful effects of pornography on the brain to harmful drugs. “The more you view it, the more you become tolerant to it, the more your brain becomes dependant on the rush.” Dr Albertus van Eeden, CEO of Doctors for Life, said his organisation presented peer-reviewed science about the effects of pornography on the brain at the conference. “Science has been able to clearly demonstrate that when watching porn, the body releases a cocktail of erototoxins that sufficiently overpower the frontal cortex/ thinking brain to suppress clear logic,” he said. “These neurotransmitters include dopamine, serotonin, encephaline and so on that are molecularly similar to cocaine, LSD and morphine. When looking at pornography the body usually produces unnaturally high amounts of its own endogenic ‘cocaine’, ‘LSD’ and ‘morphine’. “These powerful messages come from the primitive brain (limbic system) and lead to a combination of feelings of fear, surprise, anger, disgust, hostility and lust which overpower the brain’s ability to think soberly,” Dr van Eeden said.
The preparations for Mini World Youth Day in Durban from December 6-10 , are entering the final phase. Among those who have worked hard to make it a success are (back from left) Justin Nanak, Clare Payne, Fr Donovan Wheatley OMI, Christine Latchiah (centre row) Precious Mazibuko, Philiswa Shongwe, (front) Mpilo Khumalo, Shaun Singh and Tess Nanak. A Mass on December 8, feast of the Immaculate Conception, at 10:30 in the Durban Exhibition Centre will be open to the public. (Photo: Val Adamson)
Smokers left to fume as pope bans cigarette sales in Vatican
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N a move likely to have some Vatican employees fuming, Pope Francis has decided to ban the sale of cigarettes inside the City State on the grounds that the Holy See cannot profit from a proven health hazard. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said the reason for the decision “is very simple: the Holy See cannot contribute to an activity that clearly damages the health of people”. Available for sale exclusively at “Palazzo della Stazione”, the building that sits in front of the Vatican's small train station, the cigarettes have until now been sold at a lower price than in tobacco stores around Rome, making it an ideal place for smokers holding a Vatican employee card to pick up their next pack. However, citing numbers from the World Health Organisation, Burke noted that each year some 7 million people throughout the world die due to smoking-related causes. Despite the fact that the cigarettes sold to Vatican employees and pensioners have been a source of revenue for the Holy See, “no
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profit can be legitimate if it puts lives at risk”, Mr Burke said. The sale of cigarettes inside the Vatican will officially cease as of 2018, but the sale of larger cigars, with which smoke is not inhaled, was not mentioned in the statement. While Pope Francis himself doesn't smoke, the habit is practically considered a national vice in Italy, and many even within the Vatican can be found to have a pack or two on hand. The Vatican used to be known as a safe haven for cigarette smokers. That changed dramatically in 2002, when Vatican City prohibited smoking in offices and public places. On a moral level, the Church does not define smoking as a sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says the gift of physical health requires “reasonable care” of the body, and more specifically says: “The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco or medicine.”— CNA/CNS
CATHOLIC IRELAND A pilgrimage with Bishop Victor Phalana
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