CLERICAL ERRORS

Pope Francis Warns Priests and Nuns to Cool It on Watching ‘Normal’ Porn

The pontiff told a group of seminarians that not all pornography is criminal, but even the “normal” stuff can let the devil in.

Priests and nuns, it would seem, are human too. At least according to Pope Francis, who admits that carnal lust is part of human nature—even for those who have taken the vow of celibacy. The pontiff warned a group of seminarians this week to be careful with the “vice” of pornography, which he said is not limited to “criminal pornography like that involving the abuse of children,” but also relates to “pornography that is a little ‘normal’,” too. “It is a vice that many people have, many laymen, many laywomen, and also priests and nuns,” he said. “The Devil gets in that way.” It is not the first time revelations of this nature have swirled around the Vatican. A survey by Torrentfreak, which traces web user statistics, once found that a number of I.P. addresses inside the Vatican regularly downloaded pirated American movies and hardcore pornography. But lust isn’t the only Vatican vice. The Wine Institute in California also estimates that Vatican City has the highest per-capita wine consumption in the world, with each resident throwing back 74 liters, or around 105 bottles, of vino each year.