Unity Restored is the result of the combined efforts of the web design franchise True Presence (www.truepresence.com) and Alpha Omega Clinic (www.aoccs.org). Alpha Omega Clinic, located in Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland, is a group of clinicians who actively integrate psychological counseling with the Catholic faith. The priests of the Dioceses of Arlington, Washington D.C. and Baltimore as well as the Legionaries of Christ offered support and guidance. Bishop Paul S. Loverde of the Diocese of Arlington granted us permission to include his letter against pornography, Bought With a Price, on our website.
The purpose of Unity Restored is to provide the latest psychological information in concert with the truths of the Catholic faith, to help those who are struggling with pornography. It is a resource for people who are facing pornography or cybersex problems, as well as for their loved ones and family members who are seeking effective solutions that are consistent with their Catholic faith in preventing-and solving-problems with pornography. It also provides priests and therapists the latest information and resources for their parishioners and clients who may be having problems with pornography.
We believe that the Catholic Faith has great wisdom regarding the dignity of the human person, the source of the lust problems that often are the basis of pornography issues, and spiritual solutions that help the individual restore friendship with God as well as personal and interpersonal unity. The Catholic Church’s view of the anthropology of the human person is critical in understanding and coming to a solution regarding the problem of pornography.
Pornography is degrading to the user and to the used participants. The human person, created in the image and likeness of God, should never be treated as an object of lust. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “Pornography …offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense" (2354). Today’s culture tends to minimize the issue of harm, whether to oneself or to others. We also realize that people who use pornography are apt to deny the problems associated with it. Nonetheless, pornography always takes a serious toll—psychologically, interpersonally, and spiritually. It is often not until the problems exacerbate to a very harmful degree that people try to resolve them. We are hoping to encourage people to prevent and address these issues early, and we hope to offer professional clinicians and clergy a single resource that combines all the latest information and research on the issues of pornography and cybersex addiction, particularly from the perspective of the Catholic faith.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Unity Restored was created in response to requests by Reverend Mark S. Mealey, O.S.FS., Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, and other priests of the diocese. In order to help families fight the growing problem of pornography, priests and families need solid information about the latest psychological research in a manner integrated with their Catholic faith. We thank Fr. Mealey for his leadership and pastoral concern and we hope that Unity Restored meets this need.
We are especially grateful to Tom Cunningham, founder and CEO of True Presence and Alabanza, for his abundant generosity, which made Unity Restored possible. We also want to thank Philip Wilson and Monica Batres' team in Solucion Web - Guatemala, for their untiring support and outstanding talent in web design. We also thank Mr. Peter Martin, graduate of the Institute for the Psychological Sciences (IPS) for his research; Father Noel Deslate, of the Alpha Omega Clinic and IPS for his research and writing; and Mr. Whitney Jacobs, graduate and staff member of IPS, for his extensive research, writing, and editing for this site. I also want to thank my wife, Laraine, for her editorial assistance.
Art A. Bennett M.A., Director of the Alpha Omega Clinic
(www.aoccs.org)