{"id":6252,"date":"2019-10-01T17:03:51","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T21:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/news\/news-2\/matt-fradd-montreal-2\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T15:21:32","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T19:21:32","slug":"matt-fradd-montreal-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/news\/news-2\/matt-fradd-montreal-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Fradd in Montreal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Among the attendees in the audience were mostly youth, but also several parents and religious. Fradd combined scientific research, statistics, humour, a charming Australian accent and his personal testimony with pornography. During the first part of the conference, organized by the Croatian Catholic Association, with Youth Mission Montreal and the Diocesan Centre for Marriage, Life and Family, and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal, Fradd laid out seven myths that the porn industry does not want the world to know. He wanted to dispel falsehoods on the following:
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\nWe need porn<\/strong>
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\n\u201cPorn and lust are not the same thing as sex, sexual desire or nudity,\u201d Fradd said. Referring to Bible verses from his Catholic background, Fradd pointed out that God calls us to be fruitful and multiply, and that sex and sexual desire are good. Porn, however, is not necessary, and it dehumanizes. He said that we do not see people in porn, we watch them. \u201cThey seem to get the most attention but are actually the most ignored,\u201d Fradd said of pornography actresses.
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\nPorn is adult entertainment<\/strong>
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\n\u201cPorn is not adult-like,\u201d explained Fradd. In high school, he had a friend who would never go to the strip club with the rest of the group.
\n\u201cI just don\u2019t think it\u2019s manly to have to pay a woman to pretend to like you,\u201d Fradd added, quoting his friend.
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\nPornography prevents sexual repression<\/strong> 
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\n\u201cThere\u2019s an old stereotype that if you\u2019re against porn, you\u2019re against sex,\u201d said Fradd, attacking the myth that pornography prevents sexual repression. \u201cThere\u2019s a third option\u2014chastity\u2014that virtue which enables you and me to love in accord with our dignity.\u201d Fradd said porn induces erectile dysfunction in some men.
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\n\"matt-frad-article.jpg\"
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\nPornography isn\u2019t addictive<\/strong>
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\nFollowing results obtained from 44 neurological studies, all concluded that pornography is addictive, despite prior beliefs that only substances taken into the body could be addictive; behaviours too can be. Dopamine is a key factor in addiction, and when pornography produces a dopamine boost in the body, that pleasure is hard to match without it. To experience that same dopamine boost continually, people may eventually feel the need to turn to harder porn. \u201cWithout dopamine, sex would be as exciting as celery,\u201d Fradd remarked.
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\nIt\u2019s impossible to stop<\/strong>
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\nDespite the addictive properties of porn, it is possible to quit. It is a gradual process that may require tools and a support system, which he has helped to offer. A major difference with Fradd\u2019s approach to combat porn is his enthusiasm. He uses many tactics, but the most important is having an open dialogue without fear. Fradd believes conversing with peers and tailored talks with children are the blueprint to overcoming the myths of pornography.
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\nIn the second part of his talk, Fradd spoke about the effects of excessive internet use and the wide availability of pornography on the internet.
\n\u201cThings have changed dramatically since we were young,\u201d Fradd said, to nods of the audience. \u201cInstead of seeing pictures and reading articles in magazines and books, children can now access hard-core pornography in the home on the internet.\u201d  
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\nHow young is too young to start talking to children about sex and pornography? Matt recalled that his son, at age six, asked him what pornography brings. His son had undoubtedly overheard that his father\u2019s ministry involved educating people about porn. Before replying, Matt thought about it for a few moments, then told his son, \u201cPornography is people showing body parts that their bathing suits should cover.\u201d  He suggested that parents should sit down with their kids and let them know that they are aware that pornography is available everywhere, and that they are comfortable having discussions about it. 
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\n\u201cIt\u2019s important to let kids know that technology is amoral, not good nor evil,\u201d he added, \u201cbut, it\u2019s how we use technology that is important,\u201d suggesting that parents have conversations with their children to answer questions and to talk about important topics such as selfies, social media, pornography.  \u201cIt\u2019s never too early to start the conversation,\u201d he said, \u201cCommunicate with your children. Train them to have responsible attitudes about love and intimacy.\u201d
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\nMatt also recommended the use of internet accountability software such as Covenant Eyes, which monitors and filters computers, hand-held devices and phones. Covenant Eyes can be found at www.covenanteyes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Among the attendees in the audience were mostly youth, but also several parents and religious. Fradd combined scientific research, statistics,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6254,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nouvelle"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6252"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6253,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6252\/revisions\/6253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}