Sexual pleasure is 'a gift from God', lust 'devastates relationships' says Pope Francis

The Pope's remarks come days after his new head of doctrine, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, was criticised for a book on male and female experiences of orgasm he wrote and published in the late 1990s. (File photo)

Pope Francis has recently said that sexual pleasure is "a gift from God" that should be "disciplined with patience."  Addressing his general audience in the Vatican on Wednesday, he also warned against pornography, which he said brought "satisfaction without relationship" and could lead to addiction.

The pontiff's comments were part of a series of sermons on vices and virtues, focused on what he called "the demon of lust", the BBC reported. He added that lust "devastates relationships between people" and that "daily news is enough to document this reality".

"How many relationships that started out in the best way have later become toxic relationships?" the BBC quoted the Pope as saying.

Pope Francis made the comments days after his new head of doctrine, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, was criticised for a book he wrote and published in the late 1990s, Mystical Passion: Spirituality and Sensuality.

The book discussed human sexuality and provided descriptions of male and female experiences during orgasms. Speaking about the book, which is now out of print, Cardinal Fernández said he wrote it when he was still young and he "certainly would not" write it now.

But according to the BBC report, conservative commentators have called the book "perverse".

This, however, is not the first time Pope Francis or Cardinal Fernández have been criticised by the conservative members of the Catholic community.
In December, Cardinal Fernández introduced a text, which was later approved by Pope Francis, which detailed guidelines allowing priests to bless same-sex couples relationships that were still considered sinful.

Read more: Pope approves blessings for same-sex couples if they don't resemble marriage