A Timely Reminder

Parents do have a primary role in protecting children from harmful Internet content, Peters admits. Nevertheless, most children can still access the Internet outside the home or by means of mobile devices. All it takes is one child in a group of friends to have unrestricted access to the Internet for all to have access, the report points out.

Benedict XVI addressed the issue of pornography in his April 16 address to American bishops during his visit to the United States last year.

“Children deserve to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human relationships,” he recommended. “They should be spared the degrading manifestations and the crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today."

Children have a right to be educated in authentic moral values that are based on the dignity of the human person, the Pontiff continued.

“What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today?” he questioned.

To deal with this problem the Pope spoke of the need to urgently assess the values that are guiding society today. If we really care about young people we will all recognize our responsibility to promote and live by authentic moral values, which will enable all people to flourish, he concluded.

A timely reminder of the dangers of turning a blind eye to a problem that too often is ignored.
From a report by Robert Peters, president of Morality in Media, quoted by Fr. John Flynn, LC, Zenith, Oct.18)