Renowned American Catholic author and speaker Jason Evert explained that the only antidote to the global epidemic of pornography addiction is prayer and chastity, which “frees you to love and frees you to know if you are being authentically loved” and constantly resort to the sacraments.
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Evert specializes in chastity promotion and education on the theology of the body. She has a bachelor’s degree in Theology and Counseling, and a master’s degree in Theology. Additionally, she has dedicated more than two decades to traveling the world speaking to youth and adults about the importance of purity and human dignity in the context of personal relationships.
Together with his wife, Crystalina, he has founded Chastity Projectan organization dedicated to providing resources and support for living a chaste life.
Throughout his career, Jason has written several popular books, including Pure Love (Pure Love) and Theology of the Body for Teens (Theology of the Body for Teens), which have been translated into multiple languages and distributed globally.
His work has been featured in numerous media outlets and has reached millions of people through lectures at schools, universities and Catholic events.
In an interview with ACI Prensa, with her distinctive accessible and compassionate approach, Evert provided practical and spiritual guidance for those seeking to live a life of integrity and true love.
When asked about the psychological and emotional consequences of pornography addiction, he commented that it is a “heartbreaking” situation, and that these contents are training young people in a kind of “mental polygamy,” which leads them to consider their romantic partners as something they can throw away if they don’t meet certain sexual standards.
With respect to Elon Musk’s new X platform policieswhich last week officially allowed users to freely upload explicit content, Evert noted that this will only lead to more addiction, especially among young people.
“Before you know it, your brain can’t keep up with the amount (of stimuli) you need to consume to feel satisfied. And so the person not only gets bored of other people, but also gets bored of themselves,” she stated.
“The man who has indulged in so much pornography, it is almost as if he had these ‘porn glasses’. He can’t even look at the woman except through the lens of lust. And a woman’s heart can tell the difference. That is why healing is necessary,” added the expert.
Faced with this dangerous reality, Evert proposes the experience of chastity—in addition to the spiritual means proposed by the Church—as an “antidote” to overcome addiction to pornography. He recalled the words of Saint John Paul II, during the general audience of January 2, 1980, in which he delved into the relationship between men and women.
“If men can grow in purity of heart, can really bless your wife ‘with the peace of the inner gaze’That is, when you look at your wife with reverence, love and passion, it creates peace in your heart, because you know that you are not looking at her with lust, but with love,” said Evert.
On the other hand, “if they look at it as a thing that is used for gratification, this vulnerability is created, this resentment towards men and towards sexuality,” he said. “And a woman’s heart can tell the difference,” she stressed.
What is chastity and what is it for?
In that sense, he highlighted the importance of understanding what chastity really is: “Chastity is not celibacy. Celibacy is the state of not being married, that’s what the word means. Chastity is not the same as abstinence. “Abstinence simply means not having sex,” he explained.
“Chastity is a more complete concept. “It is the virtue of the purity of my heart, of my word, of my eyes, of my intention, of my clothing, of my conduct, of my entire person,” Evert said.
According to the author and speaker, chastity has two functions: to free the person to love and to know if they are being loved authentically. “If I am dominated by sexual addictions and then get married, I will not really love my wife. I’m not really going to make love to her. I will simply use her body as an outlet for my lust,” he stated.
“If a guy doesn’t date you if you don’t do certain things with him, or (for example) send him pictures, it’s pretty clear: He doesn’t want you. “He just wants the pleasure he gets from you,” Evert added.
Regarding the suffering that pornography causes in marriages, due to the addiction of one of the spouses, he commented that the widespread belief that these contents “intensify intimacy” is false but, on the contrary, blocks it.
“Lust is the reduction of the human person to their sexual value. That’s lust. It’s not passion. It is not sexual desire or attraction. “It is the reduction of a person to his sexual value,” she highlighted.
And he added: “While when we grow in purity of heart, yes, we are attracted to the body and sexuality, but we are also attracted to the masculinity, the femininity of the other person: the complete human being, not just the pleasure that can offer us.”
The Catholic Church’s means to overcome pornography addiction
Evert stressed the importance of sacramentals in the fight against pornography. “Spray your room with holy water, carry a miraculous medal, a crucifix, carry a Rosary in your pocket. Pray. This is what we should be doing. The basics,” she expressed.
However, he was emphatic in underlining the importance of the Blessed Sacrament. Receiving the Eucharist, he explained, is “the greatest antidote” to addiction, because from there come all the graces necessary to face “this long journey.”
“Spend time before the Blessed Sacrament, because we feast our eyes on lust with pornography, but what our eyes really need is to contemplate the Body of Christ, to begin to heal those memories,” he stated.
“You may not feel like you are receiving all these graces, but it is like being outside on a cloudy summer day. You can still get sunstroke, even if you can’t see the sun,” she remarked.
Finally, Evert stated that “there is no shame in wanting to be cured” of pornography addiction. “There is no shame if you are a soldier and are injured on the battlefield. There is no shame in that. Shame is when you leave the battlefield: ‘I give up and get out of here’”, he commented.
For this reason, he recommended approaching the sacrament of confession regularly – especially to parents, so that they can set an example for their children – and to do it, as far as possible, with the same priest, so that he can help in the struggles. “We are all in the trenches fighting and God is with you in this battle,” he said.
“In terms of resources for people who speak Spanish, we have nine books in Spanish for parents. We also have them for teenagers. Everything is available in Castidad.com o Chastity.com. You can share all these resources in Spanish with your families and we send them all over the world,” she concluded.
Andres Henriquez
I have been a writer for ACI Prensa and a correspondent for EWTN since 2023. Since then, I have covered events in the Catholic Church in Venezuela and Latin America. I have more than 5 years of experience in bilingual media. Additionally, in Venezuela I have worked with non-governmental organizations in favor of freedom and respect for human rights in the country. I have been a member of the Regnum Christi Federation since 2014.