The apostolate, called Serenellians, is web-based and was begun in
2002 by Paul Rasvage, an oil refinery engineer, family man and a
self-confessed pornography addict (who no longer indulges). The group
got its name from Alessandro Serenelli, who killed St. Maria Goretti in
a fit of lust and later repented.
“We exist to minister to those who wish to break their addiction,” said the 52-year-old.
Rasvage
says he does not believe legal initiatives against pornography are
enough. “Just trying to stop the illicit material is not
good,” he explains. “You have to deal with the disordered
desires, the root cause.”
The website lists a
number of available resources for fighting these desires, including
Church teachings, documents and saints’ writings. The flagship
resource is a workbook, called Pure of Heart, by Rosemary Scott, which
offers spiritual counsel, practical advice and meditations on chastity
and purity.
For Rasvage, combating pornography and
masturbation is made more difficult by the reluctance of the addicted
to discuss their problem and a lack of Catholic teaching and counsel in
homilies and in the confessional.
A common complaint from Catholic men is that many priests dismiss
confessions of porn viewing and masturbation as “normal” or
“nothing to worry about,” says Rasvage.
The
Serenellians website gets between 3,000 and 7,000 hits per month. Most
come from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. A few are
starting to come from China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and France.
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