Some time back I stumbled upon this blog, written by a Steve Gershom, a man who identified himself as a same-sex attracted Catholic seeking to live faithfully the Church's teaching. If I recall correctly, I was looking for resources on a problem that is becoming huge: the addiction to Internet porn; and either from someone else's link, or a Google search, I came upon something this fellow had written.
Since then, I've been checking back as he continues to share his life's journey. He writes about his friends, his work, his personal problems, his spiritual wrestling, his sins, and above all, his faith. Our Faith.
As I've been cleaning up my links, I thought, why don't I add this? I've been very impressed with Mr. Gershom. He's candid about his life in a way that is enlightening for those who haven't shared his experiences and struggles, and must be encouraging for those who do. One of the things I have noticed is that he has good friends who know him and love him, and from his writings, they are a huge strength to him. At least one of them is a priest, who hears his confessions and helps him stay anchored in Christ.
I've never met Mr. Gershom, but that would be nice if it happens. In the meantime, I am continuing to read his site, and I hope you will check it out as well.
(Note: someone may take issue with my terminology, particularly in my headline. I understand that a lot of the terms we use are ideologically loaded. But first, Mr. Gershom uses the term himself; moreover, some headlines will garner more Google attention than others; and if that helps to bring some folks here, and then to Mr. Gershom's site, I think that's worthwhile.)
8 comments:
Mr. Gershom begins his first post with this sentence:
I sin sometimes, but I’m not really a sinner.
I had difficulty moving beyond this sentence.
I am a sinner. I really am a sinner. To me, that is essential to understanding who I am as a Catholic.
Mr. Gershom seems, to me, to equivocate about the most basic concepts of Catholicism... and, I can only wonder... for what purpose?
Well, I haven't read everything on his site, but I've read a number of things over many months, probably over a couple of years. I am not the censor blogorum, but I'd say, give him a chance.
Also, realize that he's not a theologian; his writing is more impressionistic.
"To be honest, I only sin — if you can even call it that! — when I have legitimate needs." Maybe you should have read the while post, ST. I think there was more than a bit of tongue-in-cheek sarcasm going on there. Thanks for the link point, Father. Looks to be an interesting blog.
Father, you mentioned internet pornography in your introduction: THANK YOU so much for this.
I think lots of men, myself included, have struggled with internet porn, and while not all of us are addicted to it, it does become a bad habit. There is so much freedom and joy in forsaking this habit! And bringing it to the priest in confession unloads a tremendous burden!
Thank you, Father, for your priestly ministry, and for your website ministry.
Bob:
You're welcome, and I commend you for pushing away the smut. It is a terrible addiction.
Those who know me know I'm very honest, brutally so. I have to be one of the few males who doesn't use internet porn. Just never got started into it, and have felt no compulsion to start. But, Lord knows I am a sinner!!
Living in Los Angeles, I have met a few porn performers. They usually have very sad lives. If porn viewers knew or cared about these poor souls, they wouldn't watch porn.
Jennifer, There is a very good doc on the life of porn stars later in life. The life for the women is horrible. Men do OK, they weren't the stars and can live in anonymity.
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