This latest initiative dedicated to addressing pornography addiction was seen by its founders as a priority given recent figures on divorce, which reveal that addiction to porn may be responsible for 56% of divorces in the U.S. and that pornographic content constitutes 25% of global video traffic on the internet worldwide. In France alone, 21% of 14- to 24-year-olds reportedly watch porn at least once a week. In the U.S., a large majority of minors under 17 have access to porn.
“We want to make Christ known and loved to our contemporaries who do not yet know him, knowing that Jesus can free them from their chains, namely their addictions,” Jean-Baptiste Maillard, co-founder of Lights in the Dark, told CNA. “We offer the opportunity for those affected by this scourge to chat confidentially with an e-missionary trained in this mission, which is first and foremost to listen with compassion and to bear witness to the love of God in our lives.”
A 30-day healing journey called “Freedom Adventure” is also available to internet users who can receive support from the 1,100 or so sponsors on the platform. The sponsors recently dedicated their Lenten intentions of prayers to those struggling with porn addiction.
Blessed Carlo Acutis, one of the first and most famous figures of online evangelization and a key reference for Lights in the Dark since its foundation, is also at the center of this initiative, which includes a prayer of deliverance through his intercession.
The prayer received the imprimatur of the archbishop of Bourges (central France), Jérôme Beau, as well as the approval of Acutis’ mother.
“We also wrote to Pope Francis in August 2022 and were pleased to receive a response three weeks later in which he encouraged us to ‘continue to reach out to the wounded and fragile, in search of meaning in their lives,’ and to be ‘a beacon of hope’ for those who are discouraged and sad,” Maillard said. “The Holy Father also encouraged us to ‘take care of the fragile members of our families, of our society, of our peoples.’”