To reject moral law in the area of human sexuality, to treat sexual pleasure as an ultimate good, is to condemn oneself to irresponsibility and unbridled selfishness. All good things utilized without reference to the laws of love lead not to maturity in love, but to the slavery of selfishness. They recoil upon the head of the abuser. To flout the laws of nature, to scorn moral norms, is to court self-destruction. Frank learned this the hard way. Unbridled sex leads to death. That is why he turns to his peers with his dramatic appeal: “Stop abusing love, I beg you, let Christ enter your lives before it is too late!”

In the developed West, the fruits of free-for-all sex are horrifying: AIDS, 38 different sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), cervical cancer, rape, pedophilia, sexual perversions, and even the legally sanctioned mass murder of unborn children. It is now clinically proven that teenagers are not physically mature enough to engage in sexual relations; their immune systems are not yet fully developed. Sexologists are sounding the alarm. At a recent gynecology symposium in Stuttgart, Dr. Lars Westrom of Lund, Sweden, observed, “Viral and mycotic genital infections are spreading epidemically among our teenage populations, often without overt symptoms. The consequences of these infections include sterility, numerous childbearing complications, fetal injury, cancerous growths and deaths”.

And what is responsible for this? Westrom minces no words here. It is “the propaganda of moral license, which promotes adolescent sexual activity. We hear all kinds of talk about sexual techniques and contraception, but no one mentions the negative effects of premature sex, which can remain with us for the rest of our lives.” Radio, TV, and popular magazines are constantly peddling their message of total sexual freedom, separating sex from love and responsibility, i.e. from any coherent concept of personhood. Those who succumb to this message embark on a road that leads to spiritual and physical self-destruction. As sex addicts, they become regular consumers of the international sex industry. This is a powerful industry with vested interests in contraception, abortion, pornography, and even the production of cosmetics. Thanks to its enormous propaganda machine, the industry has claimed many more innocent victims than laissez-faire capitalism claimed during the last century. A recent issue of Quotidien de Paris ran an advertisement for a moisturizing skin care product containing human embryo extract. Thus, the bodies of children killed in their mothers’ wombs are frozen and transported (from eastern Europe among other places) by cosmetics firms to produce “high quality” skin care products! (Ironically, certain animal embryos are protected by conservationist agencies.) What we have here are clear signs of a “culture of death”.

Today we witness the appalling practice of dealing in human flesh for the purposes of prostitution. According to United Nations statistics, about 35 million women and children are offered up in sex parlors around the world as luxury items for depravity. There are special agencies in the USA which rent out boys and girls for sex according to age and complexion of skin. That which is most intimate and holy in a person is being destroyed. The appalling consequences of sex run amok in the developed West have caused many people to come to their senses. Thousands of young unbelievers across the world are converting to faith. In the midst of a culture of death fixated on consumption and exploitation, they are discovering an oasis of love, freedom and life in the Church. Soon after her conversion, Tatiana Gorycheva of Russia writes: “Just yesterday we acknowledged no norms, no authority. Today we have accepted the helping hand of that wonderful thing called our Church. We have accepted the commandments and truths given to us for all time by God Himself. By proclaiming these truths in and out of season, the Church stands alone in opposing a stupefying ideology of life without God – an ideology which distorts the human person. In the Church, the individual is able to reach full maturity.” (Nous, convertis d’Union Soviétique, Editions Nouvelle Cité). Christ Himself is present in the Church. He is always at work defending our dignity, enabling us to experience love, life and freedom in their fullness. If He makes great demands on us, it is because He loves us and wants the best for us. If at any time we been hurt by people of the Church (after all, aren’t such people also sinners like ourselves) we should remember that our suffering is also the suffering of Christ. So let us forgive with all our hearts, just as Christ forgives us. It

is truly a marvel that despite such overarching evil so many young people refuse to be manipulated.

True Love Waits, a new “chastity” movement in the US is calling on young people to abstain from sex and sexual activity before marriage. This movement is made up of people for whom beauty, love and truth represent enduring values. These people are banding together to resist the universal obsession with pornography. Theirs is a resounding “NO” to brutal social pressure, which would invade the intimate precincts of their lives and turn them into slaves of perversion and selfish consumption. They want to love chastely, to preserve the purity of their hearts and the radiance of their eyes. They will not abide disorders in the areas of love and life. They are opposed to contraceptive techniques and any genetic manipulation which reduces that supreme masterpiece, the child, to the level of a serial product that can be passed or discarded, depending on whether or not it passes “quality control”. These young people know that sex is not a mere toy to be played with, but a sublime gift of God to be used in the service of life and responsible love. That is why sex can express love and provide happiness only within marriage. These people approach life in a spirit of purity and self-control. Only such conduct can bring true happiness and freedom. The faces of these young people radiate happiness and the light of God. Needless to say, such an attitude requires considerable courage in our over-sexed world. These days it takes courage to say: “Because I love you, I will not go to bed with you until we are married.”

We receive such courage from Jesus Christ, through prayer and the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. The love of Christ is meek and mild, but, when received with a trusting heart, it is all-powerful and capable of conquering every evil. Even the most promiscuous and desperate of sex addicts can be set free and made pure. For Christ there is no such thing as a person too dirty or too impure. There are no hopeless cases. Why not consider joining this movement? Have the courage to go against the current of license and depravity that would overwhelm and destroy all the young people of the world! Persuade others not to buy magazines or books which promote pornography and loose morals. Express your disapproval to newsstand owners where pornographic materials are sold. Buy only from newsstands where such materials are not visible, and encourage merchants not to participate in their sale. Write encouraging letters to publishers of good magazines and authors of morally wholesome radio and TV programs. Express your disapproval to those who contribute to the corruption of morals. Only those willing to fight for chastity come to true maturity. It is the maturity that enables people to take responsibility for the future of their society and the world. We invite all our readers to join our “Crusade for Love” by giving Christ their personal pledge to abstain from sex until after they are married. Thousands of young Americans have already made such a commitment. Take fifteen-year-old Linda for example. Her face radiates purity and joy. She informs us that it was her parents who encouraged her to save sex for marriage. After a solemn meal on St. Valentine’s Day, her father presented her with a ring, saying: “Your mother and I want you to wear this ring. Let it be a token of your offering yourself to Christ and your resolve to put off sex until marriage”. After this, they prayed together for her perseverance. Linda plans to give this ring to her husband on the night of their honeymoon. Why not consider joining such young people? It is never too late. Give yourself to Jesus. He will heal all your wounds. Place your trust in His love, and say the words of the prayer as found on page 55. By making this pledge, you will become part of a heroic movement opposing Satan’s campaign of corruption. Among those who have suffered martyrdom for the cause of chastity are Maria Goretti, Karolina Kozka, a group of young Ugandans, burned alive for refusing to pander to their leaders’ homosexual appetites, a Zairian girl, speared to death by a soldier in 1962 for refusing to have sex with him and a host of other boys and girls. By joining this movement, you will allow Christ to bring forth out of the world’s present mire of selfishness and perversion that greatest of wonders – True Love. We look forward to receiving your letters.