Porn Booming Despite Recession In Italy, Vatican Study Says

Italians might not be spending money on cars and clothes, but apparently they still have a few bucks to drop on porn. A study co-sponsored by the Vatican revealed that, in spite of Italy’s current financial recession, the adult entertainment industry is alive and well in the traditionally Roman Catholic country, growing and becoming more tech-savvy by the day.

Conducted by the renowned Eurispes Institute and backed by the Vatican’s Commission for Social Communication, the study found the adult industry is infiltrating mobile phones, television, and the Internet in order to offer pornographic content 24 hours a day. Revenues for adult and related industries were reported to be at about $1.4 billion in 2004, a figure that is up about 100 euros from 2003 and 27 percent from 1991 – which, at nearly one-third the revenue of a company like Mediaset or about the same as Giorgio Armani luxury goods, puts porn in contention with some of Europe’s largest broadcasters.

While Italy has seen an increase in sex shops popping up across the country (some near highway exits and next to gas stations), the study said the majority of adult revenue is generated through pay-TV porn, online sales, phone sex lines, and mobile-phone porn. According to the 65-page study, “The link between pornography and information technology is by now entrenched and has multiplied supply in an irreversible way.” The study went on to say, “The strategy … is now to give consumers a sort of 24-hour service wherever they may be via all means of communications by using the most advanced technology as well as traditional outlets.”

It was reported that, as more satellite operators have gotten into the business of offering their customers subscription packages including adult content, Italians spent nearly 247 million euros on pay-TV porn in 2004 (up 63 million from 2003). Meanwhile, roughly 15 percent of the population (about 8.8 million people) is said to be consumers of pornography.

As might be expected, officials at the Vatican are not jumping for joy at the news. Archbishop John Foley, president of the Vatican’s communications department, said the figures revealed in the study indicated a “sad and desolate” situation for Italian society. “The overall sales figures from pornography are enormous,” he said. “The money invested is astronomical and the effects, especially on children, are often devastating.”