Even priests and nuns watch porn: Pope talks of ‘vice that so many people have'

Pope Francis: The pope also warned against watching the news too much and listening to music that distracts from one's work.

Pope Francis warned seminarians of the dangers of online pornography calling it a temptation that "weakens the priestly heart". While responding to a wide range of questions from priests and seminarians studying in Rome, Pope Francis said that digital and social media should be best used to "share the joy of being Christians".

Pope Francis: Pope Francis attends the weekly general audience. (Reuters)

The pope also warned against watching the news too much and listening to music that distracts from one's work.

"And on this (subject) there's also another thing, which you know well: digital pornography," Pope Francis said.

"Each of you think if you've had the experience or had the temptation of digital pornography. It's a vice that so many people have, so many laymen, so many lay women, and even priests and nuns," Pope Francis added.

"And I'm not just talking about criminal pornography like child abuse, where you see live cases of abuse: that's already degeneracy. But of the more 'normal' pornography," Pope Francis continued.

In June, the pope had called pornography "a permanent attack on the dignity of men and women", saying it should be declared a "threat to public health".

"The devil enters from there: it weakens the priestly heart. Excuse me for going down to these details about pornography, but there is a reality: a reality that touches priests, seminarians, nuns, consecrated souls," he had said.