Father Allen J. Hoffa, Pastor of Holy Guardian Angels Parish in Reading, is featured in a 12-part video series on Shalom World that explores the impact of porn addiction and the hidden truths of pornography.
The series, entitled “The Porn Disaster,” features a panel of five experts who share survivor stories and guides viewers through the complex and multi-faceted issue of pornography.
Access to porn has expanded to every country throughout the world over the last 75 years, and porn is now one of the leading forms of adult entertainment, raking in over $100 billion worldwide.
Today, there are 4.2 million websites available with pornography, and every second of the day, it’s estimated that nearly 30 thousand people of all ages view porn.
“The age of first exposure is between 8 and 9 years old and it goes all the way up to those who are most senior in our communities,” says Father Hoffa.
Among the elderly, he says he hears “heartbreaking things in confession when you get a man or a woman – a widow or a widower especially – who comes in and they sob because they had no clue of the addictive nature of this stuff.” “They may innocently click a link or scam email,” he says, “and before they know it, they’re viewing pornography.”
“They get hooked immediately because they’re lonely. Then they’re so ashamed, so embarrassed because they never thought this would have happened to them,” he says.
Another staggering statistic presented in the video is that 50% of annulments nationally have porn usage as a core issue in the breakdown of the marital bond.
Father Hoffa says that pornography is “not just a men’s issue; it’s a woman’s issue too, but perennially, it’s more an issue of men using it” and wives often find out that their husbands have been addicted to pornography “even well before they were married, even before they met. It’s something they had and held onto.”
“The Porn Disaster” video series delves into the reasons why pornography is so pervasive and explores its addictive nature.
“In the videos, we call pornography the new drug of choice because of the five A’s. It’s accepted, accessible, aggressive, affordable, and anonymous,” Father Hoffa said.
“The problem is with people not talking about it. They don’t realize the gravity of the threat,” he says. “It’s one of – if not the greatest threat – to individual persons and their holiness, our young people, and marriages. It affects people of every age because it doesn’t discriminate, and it attacks everyone.”
Father Hoffa witnessed firsthand the pervasive and destructive nature of pornography during his first priestly assignment as School Chaplain at Allentown Central Catholic High School. The hurt and grief experienced by one of the students inspired him to help people who were harmed by pornography.
Soon after, Father Hoffa became involved in a new ministry called Integrity Restored, created by the non-profit Stewardship: A Mission of Faith. The new ministry, which is located in Lancaster County, provides education, training, encouragement, and resources to break free from pornography, heal relationships, and assists parents in preventing and responding to pornography exposure among their children.
“There wasn’t a doubt in my mind,” he says of his involvement with Integrity Restored. “It is so important to be a part of [this ministry] because of the way in which [pornography is] ruining lives.”
In 2018, Bishop Alfred Schlert formed the Lumen Christi Commission in the Diocese of Allentown to protect its faithful from the harms of pornography, demonstrating his proactiveness in addressing this issue.
“Not many dioceses can say they have a full diocesan commission that addresses the issue of pornography,” says Father Hoffa.
In early 2023, Father Hoffa received a phone call from Patricia Keane, a radio host with Ave Maria Radio in Ireland and the eventual moderator of “The Porn Disaster” video series.
At the time, Keane “was very concerned about the issue of pornography,” said Hoffa, because Ireland’s government was looking at introducing legislation for school curriculum to include responsible use of pornography as part of sexual education, which conflicts with Catholic moral teaching.
In May 2023, Keane hosted a radio conference about pornography, and Father Hoffa phoned in to participate virtually. Then in November of that year, he traveled to Ireland to record “The Porn Disaster” video series with Keane. They recorded 12 videos, each about 23 minutes long, in less than a week.
“I’m honored to be a part of ‘The Porn Disaster’ initiative because it’s something that’s going to shed light and be a resource” for those who are struggling, he says.
You can watch “The Porn Disaster” video series anytime on YouTube.
The Lumen Christi website is https://www.adlumenchristi.org/
If a person in the Diocese of Allentown is struggling with pornography addiction, Father Hoffa invites them to call the Lumen Christi Commission at 610-921-2729, extension 2205 or 610-207-3441, they can email the commission at [email protected]. All calls and emails are strictly confidential.
