In many instances, especially for the education our youth, the advancement of the internet-age has made it easier to find a wealth of information, goods, and services, at our fingertips. Unfortunately, the internet also has its downside with what it brings into the home… a modern culture that glorifies violence and sex, especially through pornography.
In 2015, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) published a document called “Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography,” In this document, U.S. bishops say pornography must be addressed in order to protect marriage, the family, and children. When the home includes pornography, the home is no longer a safe haven.
A software company in Michigan called Covenant Eyes, has been teaming with dioceses across the country to raise awareness to the dangers of pornography through Safe Haven Sundays. Safe Haven Sunday is in its third year in the Diocese of Fargo, bringing effective ways for families to fight pornography in the home.
“It’s critical for parents to realize the danger they place their children in when providing access to the internet,” said Ryan Foley of Covenant Eyes. “Today, it is nearly certain and probable that a child will be exposed to internet pornography. Parents need to have conversations with their children about pornography, and protect them as best they can. It’s often said, the first person to reach a child and discuss sex with them wins the right to keep educating them. We don’t want the first person to teach our children about sex to be internet pornography.”
This year’s theme for Safe Haven Sunday is Equipping the Family, Safety through Connection. At Masses the weekend of Feb. 27–28, booklets and prayer cards will be offered to families to give them insight into the dangers of the possible intrusion of pornography into their children’s lives.
“Parents being on the same page is critical when it comes to internet safety,” said Foley. “Standards around taking your technology to your room at night, to restrictions to apps, and to when or if to allow a child to have a smartphone, are decisions that need both parents to agree, and subsequently reinforce each other when a child seeks to break or push the rules.”
Brad Gray, the director of the Office of Marriage and Family Life for the Diocese of Fargo, says the annual observance of Safe Haven Sunday contributes to establishing a culture that recognizes, upholds, and celebrates God’s design for marriage and sexuality.
“Safe Haven Sunday casts light on the dark underbelly of pornography,” said Gray. “It helps to awaken people to the harm done to individuals, marriages, and families through the use of pornography. It both educates parents about the various subtle ways that pornographers seek to infiltrate their homes and poison the minds and heart of their families, while at the same time equipping parents to protect against these intrusions.”
For more information on Safe Haven Sunday, or to get a copy of the book
Connected: How Strong Family Relationships Lead to Internet-Safe Kids, contact the Marriage and Family Life office at the Diocese of Fargo at (701) 356-7900.