Lighted Candle Society

'Tsunami of pornography' debases human dignity, archbishop says
By Dan Morris-Young and Barbara Lee5/14/2007

Catholic News Service (www.catholicnews.com)

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (CNS) – Describing what he sees as an "electronic tsunami of pornography," Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco told a Utah-based anti-pornography organization that pornography "debases the priceless worth and dignity of each human being and (God's) gift of human sexuality."

While pornography "is not a new challenge," the archbishop told members of the Lighted Candle Society at its annual awards dinner in Salt Lake City May 8, "the explosive increase in the accessibility and availability of pornography is new and deeply troubling."

"Every computer terminal is its pipeline, and cell phones and other hand-held devices, many of them marketed to children and young people, literally deliver pornography everywhere, to anyone," he said in his keynote address.

Archbishop Niederauer was presented the Lighted Candle Society's Guardian of the Light Award two years ago for his work as president of the Utah Coalition Against Pornography, a position he held for five years as bishop of Salt Lake City before being named archbishop of San Francisco.

The archbishop, who headed the Salt Lake City Diocese from 1994 to 2005, reminded his listeners that pornography "now generates more annual income than all three major professional sports combined, and causes as well the world's fastest growing addiction."

"We have all heard the discouraging numbers," he said, noting research shows there are 68 million Internet "search engine requests for porn sites" every day, that 70 percent of men ages 18 to 24 visit porn sites each month, that "90 percent of 8- to 16-year-olds have viewed porn online," and that "the average age of a child's first exposure to pornography on the Internet is 11."

However, he said, "what should motivate us most profoundly is not the amount of pornography there is but the kind of harm it does. Pornography assaults human dignity and commodifies people and human sexuality. Porn starves the human soul in its spiritual dimension. ... The human person, an irreplaceable gift, becomes a throwaway toy."

The archbishop, who chairs the U.S. bishops' Committee on Communications and is a member of the Pontifical Council on Social Communications, cautioned that pornography opponents "need constantly to explore and articulate what we are for, not merely what we are against. Deploring and pointing with alarm are valid and effective only in light of what we value and defend."

Much of the archbishop's talk also addressed the motion picture industry which, he said, "is capable of so much beauty and so much trash."

Admitting he has had "a lifelong love affair with the movies," Archbishop Niederauer criticized "the nihilism that reigns in many quarters of moviemaking" today as well as "excessive violence" and dark portrayals of life.

He called on his listeners, film critics and moviemakers themselves to be wary of being cowed by a desire to seem "supersophisticated."

"The one thing we will not be called is prudes, so we laugh nervously at the vilest sexual aberrations, nod knowingly at the blackest, sickest kind of humor, even relish a bit of violence well carried off," the archbishop said. "Some of us want to come off as so worldly-wise that we defend any evil flashed on-screen by saying, 'Face it, the world is like that!'

"Moviegoers can't be sponges," he added. "Just as in our experiences of other media, in watching films we need to become our own best filters."

At the awards dinner, the Lighted Candle Society presented Guardian of the Light Awards to nationally syndicated radio talk-show host Michael Reagan, the adopted son of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and Pamela Atkinson, who succeeded Archbishop Niederauer as president of the Utah Coalition Against Pornography.

The society was founded in 2001 by John Harmer, a former California state senator and California lieutenant governor during Ronald Reagan's term as governor. Harmer and researcher James B. Smith recently co-wrote "The Sex Industrial Complex," subtitled "America's Secret Combination: Pornographic Culture, Addiction and the Human Brain."
In an interview with the Intermountain Catholic, Salt Lake City diocesan newspaper, Harmer said it is through the efforts of people such as Michael Reagan and Atkinson that the Lighted Candle Society is ready to achieve a much broader base.

"When I created the society, I was aware of many similar organizations doing the same work," he said.

But Harmer said he found a void in research and the training of law enforcement officials and prosecutors to effectively fight pornography in the courts on behalf of individuals who have suffered because of the use of pornography.

"It is much like the court battles that have tackled tobacco marketing," he said. "People have no idea how powerful and dangerous these images are and how pervasive they become to a person addicted to pornography." - - -

Awards Dinner Honors Anti Porn Efforts

May 8 Awards Dinner honors anti-pornography efforts
San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer will give dinner's keynote address
by Barbara Stinson LeeIntermountain Catholic

SALT LAKE CITY — If the face of the Hon. John Harmer, a former California state senator and lieutenant governor, appears worn and tired it’s because he is fighting a 40-year battle with images he doesn’t like to look at and words he hates to read. Harmer, the founder and chairman of the Lighted Candle Society, now in its sixth year, is leading a charge against pornography, whether it is found in magazines and books, movies and television, or popping up into our homes uninvited via the internet.

Harmer doesn’t fight this battle alone. On May 8 at the annual Guardian of the Light Awards Dinner at Little America in Salt Lake City, Harmer and the Lighted Candle Society will honor Michael Reagan and Pamela Atkinson for their efforts. San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer, former president of the Utah Coalition Against Pornography, will give the keynote address at the dinner.

Reagan, the adopted son of the late President Ronald Reagan and his first wife, Jane Wyman, is the host of the conservative radio talk show, “The Michael Reagan Show,” is syndicated through Radio America. He will be honored for his anti-porn efforts on the national level. Atkinson, a local activist who took over the reigns of the Utah Coalition Against Pornography from Bishop

George Niederauer after he was named archbishop of San Francisco, will be recognized for her anti-porn stand on the local level.

In an interview with the Intermountain Catholic, Harmer said it is through the efforts of people like Reagan and Atkinson that the Lighted Candle Society is ready to achieve a much broader base.

“When I created the Society, I was aware of many similar organizations doing the same work. A lot of our money has gone to those organizations. I wanted to fill a void.”

Harmer has found that void – it is research and the training of law enforcement and prosecutors to effectively fight pornography in the courts on behalf of individuals who have suffered because of the use of pornography. “It is much like the court battles that have tackled tobacco marketing,” he said

In a new book Harmer co-wrote with Bountiful Researcher James B. Smith, “The Sex Industrial Complex: Americas Secret Combination, Pornographic Culture, Addiction and the Human Brain,” Harmer takes on corporate entities and the powerful movie industry “that are profiting from the production, distribution, and financing of pornography. They support each other and use presumably independent entities such as Planned Parenthood and the ACLU (The American Civil Liberties Union) to protect themselves.”

“The Sex Industrial Complex,” Harmer’s editor notes, “documents the rise and cultural saturation of pornographic propaganda and ideology throughout the 20th century. From the ACLU to MTV and motion pictures; Harmer lays out the history, social implications, and societal impact of a worldwide pornographic culture.”

Harmer said the research of Dr. Judith Reisman, to whom the book is dedicated, “reveals that frequent use of pornography creates addiction and brain damage in the structure and the function of the brain. Through the use of fMRI’s (functional magnetic resonance imaging) we can now watch the human brain react to the stimuli of violence and pornography.”

Dr. Reisman’s research and that of the University of Pennsylvania’s Dr. Mary Ann Leyden, Harmer said, provide the protocol for an estimated $2 million – $3 million study the Lighted Candle Society intends to undertake and publish on the harmful effects of pornography on the human brain.

“People have no idea how powerful and dangerous these images are and how pervasive they become to a person addicted to pornography,” Harmer said.

For further information about the Lighted Candle Society, The Guardian of the Light Awards Dinner, or “The Sex Industrial Complex” go to: www.lightedcandlesociety.org.
John Harmer, founder and chairman of the Lighted Candle Society, is a tireless fighter in the struggle against pornography. Working from offices in Washington, D.C. and Bountiful, Utah, he brings to light the dark world of pornography that is supported by some of the most reputable companies in the U.S. They have found that pornography is a profitable business.

Disney Employees Arrested In Sex Sting

Disney Employees Among 28 Arrested In Sex Sting
POSTED: 7:48 am EDT April 2, 2007

UPDATED: 11:30 pm EDT April 2, 2007

POLK COUNTY, Fla. -- An undercover sting operation in Polk County led to 28 arrests of people charged with soliciting sex from children online.

SLIDESHOW: Mug Shots Of All Arrested Suspects
Of those arrested, three men told authorities they were Disney employees, according to a sheriff's office report.
Sheriff's office spokeswoman Donna Wood said a number of agencies worked together to set up the sting at a Polk County home. The detectives set up a shop in a rented house and they filled the upstairs with computers and phones.


The detectives then acted as 13- and 14-year-old girls, entering fictitious names and profiles in chat rooms and chatted with the suspects. The reactions varied from the men who showed up to find law enforcement there waiting for them.

"Using undercover officers, the suspects chatted online with people whom they believed to be boys and girls, ages 13 and 14," Wood said.

When the suspects stopped in over the weekend, they were arrested. Three men arrested in the sting told authorities they were Disney employees: Julio Segundo, 21, of Orlando; Richard Gaugh, 55, of Ormond Beach; and Thierry Ferron, 43, of Winter Garden. All three were charged with soliciting a minor via the internet and attempted lewd battery.

"We take matters like this very seriously," Disney said in a statement released Monday. "The cast members have been placed on unpaid leave."

According to Disney, none of the three employees arrested worked directly with children. The company said all cast members must pass background checks when they're hired.
Segundo and Gaugh remained in jail awaiting bail on Monday. Ferry posted bond and was released Sunday. It was not immediately known if the men had attorneys.

The Polk County sheriff had a stern warning for parents.

"This is a guy who's going to come into your home while you are gone, and your kids are here on spring break, and have sex with your 13-year-old child," said Sheriff Grady Judd.

2007 by WFTV.com.

Disney Executive Accused of Molesting Boy

Disney Executive Accused Of Molesting Boy In Spa

Dave ClarkReporting
(CBS) LOS ANGELES A 43-year-old man was freed on bail Friday after being arrested on suspicion of molesting a 13-year-old boy in a Fairfax-area condominium complex gym.

Ludovic Cremers, 43, was arrested Thursday following a three-week investigation into allegations that he molested the child in late July, Los Angeles police Lt. Paul Vernon said.

Cremers, a Disney marketing executive, posted $100,000 bail on Friday morning.The management of the Palazzo at Park La Brea, a condominium complex in the Fairfax district, told authorities in early August that two people reported seeing Cremers engaging in "inappropriate acts" in the complex's gymnasium.

Those witnesses said Cremers touched himself in a shower in plain view of the boy, who was sitting in a nearby hot tub.Cremers sat down next to the boy in the hot tub and reached toward the boy's groin under the water, the witnesses said.Detectives contacted the boy, who confirmed the acts.

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office has agreed to file one count of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, Vernon said. Cremers is a native of Hungary who works in marketing for a large entertainment company. He last lived in Kentucky, and authorities are looking for other possible victims. "Mr. Cremers has no criminal history that we know of locally, but he's only been in the Los Angeles area a short while," Vernon said. "We are releasing his photograph as a way to forewarn the public and see if there are any more victims." Anyone with more information on the suspect can call LAPD Detective Roger Kohler at (213) 473-0418 or (877) 529-3855.
2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc.

Porn and Pancakes

'Porn & Pancakes' fights X-rated addictions


POSTED: 11:31 a.m. EDT, April 5, 2007 CNN.com

Story Highlights• Every second, approximately 28,258 Internet users are viewing
pornography• Breakfast event helps men discuss how pornography affects their
lives• Craig Gross founded XXXChurch.com to battle against porn industry• A
Kentucky organization uses biblical counseling to break addictions

More on CNN TV: Questions of sex and salvation. What is a Christian? An "Anderson Cooper 360°" special report, Thursday, 10 p.m. ET.");}

By Jason Rovou CNN

MORTON, Illinois (CNN) -- At 8 o'clock on a recent Saturday morning, more than 250 men gathered at New Life Christian Church in Morton, Illinois, for a breakfast of porn and pancakes.
The event, not as titillating as it sounds, is the brainchild of Craig Gross, founder of the online Christian ministry, XXXChurch.com.

Gross concocted the idea of "Porn & Pancakes" as a way to get Christians and church officials to talk about pornography addiction.

It's a problem, he said, that is growing, among Christian communities.

Over the smell of maple syrup and sausage, Gross and other guest speakers -- including a former producer of pornography -- talk to the men about how pornography negatively affects their lives, including relationships with their families and with God. The men who come to hear them speak want to make sure they don't develop a problem themselves.

"A lot of people think Christians sure don't struggle with this," Gross said. "The stats don't lie: Christians are consuming pornography. And to me, it's not a surprise."

A nonscientific poll on XXXChurch.com found that 70 percent of Christians admitted to struggling with porn in their daily lives. Church officials are not immune either. According to Gross, some 76 percent of pastors he surveyed said they, too, have a problem. Gross says he's not surprised so many Christians find themselves struggling with addictions to pornography, considering just how mainstream and easily accessible it has become.

Adult entertainment is an enormous business in the United States, taking in an estimated $12 billion annually. Every second, approximately 28,258 Internet users are viewing pornography, according to the Internet Filter Review. With some 4.2 million pornographic Web sites to explore, many Christians find themselves unable to turn away.

'Jesus Loves Porn Stars'
Gross started his ministry to spark discussion on a topic he found to be largely ignored within religious circles. The breakfast meetings are just part of that ministry.
His organization attends adult industry conventions, handing out bibles to pornography fans and workers that read "Jesus Loves Porn Stars." Gross travels the country having friendly debates on college campuses with iconic porn star Ron Jeremy on the effects of pornography. And XXXChurch.com also offers free accountability software, which Gross says has been downloaded by 300,000 people. It works by sending reports to a couple of trusted persons -- a friend, a wife, a pastor -- about which Web sites have been visited.

While Gross' ministry tries to prevent Christians from developing a problem, other organizations cater to those who say they have nowhere else to turn.

Jerry -- who asked that his last name not be used -- said he began looking at pornography at a young age and has, by his account, spent thousands of hours surfing the web, looking at adult magazines and utilizing chat rooms.

"I was in it, as much as possible," he said. "Just like an alcoholic or someone who has an addiction to drugs."

Jerry is one of the 55 men living at Pure Life Christian Ministries in rural Williamstown, Kentucky, who have come here to as a last resort to reclaim their lives and their Christian values.

The ministries offer a six month, live-in treatment program for men with sexual addictions. At the facility, which claims to be the only one of its kind in the country, counselors take a biblical approach to healing instead of a psychological one.

The live-in program demands intense Bible study and discipline from the residents. Each day is structured for work, prayer, and one-on-one biblical counseling, where the men study scriptural lessons on guilt, anger, depression and selfishness. The men are cut off from the outside world and any outside stimulation. There is no television, Internet or cell phones. Mail is even screened for clothing catalogues with what could be considered inappropriate images.

Over the past 15 years, more than 600 men have come here to detox from their porn addictions.

'Their soul's in danger'
"We actually understand their soul's in danger," said Jeff Colón, the head counselor here who went through the program 13 years ago to save himself from his own pornography and sexual addictions. "When the men come to us, they've gotten to the end of their rope."

"Jerry" said his compulsions were robbing his young son and wife from a normal family life.

"It was killing me, from the inside. I was riddled with guilt," he said. "And by the grace of God, he pulled me out of that pit, and brought me here, before it got to a point to where ... who knows? I mean I could have ended up anywhere."

While Jerry and other program residents are working hard to leave their addictions behind, the true test of their willpower and faith will come after they return to the real world, where Colón said they'll be bombarded with sexual images on television, in advertising and on the computer.

"We do live in a sexualized culture, and it is difficult for these men when they leave here," he said. "It doesn't help."