Pope Leo XIV on Friday warned about new addictions of recent times such as compulsive gambling, betting, and pornography as consequences of excessive internet use.
The Holy Father issued his warning in a video message addressed to participants in the seventh National Conference on Addictions, organized in Rome by Italy’s Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
In his Nov. 7 message, the pontiff emphasized that in recent times, in addition to addictions such as drugs and alcohol — which continue to be the most prevalent — “new forms have emerged, since the growing use of the internet, computers, and smartphones is associated not only with clear benefits but also an excessive use that often leads to addictions with negative consequences for health.”
These addictions, the pope explained, are related “to compulsive gambling and betting, pornography, and almost constant presence on digital platforms. The object of addiction becomes an obsession, conditioning behavior and daily life.”
He emphasized that these phenomena are “a symptom of the mental or inner distress of the individual and a social decline in positive values and references, particularly in teenagers and young people.”
In this context, he stressed that this time of youth “is a time of trials and questions, of the search for meaning in life,” sometimes marked by drug use, the pursuit of easy money through slot machines, or internet addiction, which demonstrates “that we live in a world without hope, where there is a lack of vigorous human and spiritual proposals.”
Consequently, he lamented that many young people “think that all forms of behavior are equal, as they are unable to distinguish good from evil and do not have a sense of moral limits.”
For this reason, the Holy Father urged everyone to value and encourage “the efforts of parents and various educational agencies, such as schools, parishes, and oratories, aimed at inspiring spiritual and moral values in the younger generation so that they behave responsibly.”
Furthermore, he emphasized that young people “need to form their consciences, develop their inner lives, and establish positive relationships with their peers and constructive dialogue with adults in order to become free and responsible architects of their own lives.”
Pope Leo made a powerful appeal to institutions, the Church, and all of society “to perceive among these young people a cry for help and a deep thirst for life, to offer an attentive and supportive presence that invites them to make an intellectual and moral effort, and helps them to forge their will.”
He thus called for a commitment to prevention efforts “that translates into action by the community as a whole.” He also emphasized the urgency of “boosting the self-esteem of the younger generation in order to combat the sense of insecurity and emotional instability fostered both by social pressures and by the very nature of adolescence.”
Finally, he encouraged the formulation of “practical proposals aimed at promoting a culture of solidarity and subsidiarity; a culture that opposes selfishness and utilitarian and economic logic but which reaches out to others, listening to them, on a journey of encounter and relationship with our neighbors, especially when they are most vulnerable and fragile.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
