My name is Theo McManigal, and I am pleased to be joining the team at Catholic lntimacy as the marketing director, as well as to offer myself as a professional accountability partner, particularly for those who have a habit or addiction to using pornography. As a husband of an amazing wife and a father of a wonderful daughter, I am very passionate about helping marriages go well. In my role as the marketing director here, I look forward to spreading the word far and wide about Catholic Intimacy and the great work of James and the team to help as many marriages as possible to be holy. I also look forward to sharing some of my own insights with you through the articles I will write and the content I will create. I am grateful to James and his team for welcoming me and giving me the opportunity to contribute to this noble and salvific mission. 

As someone who used to struggle with pornography use and now currently works as the Catholic Church Outreach Specialist at Covenant Eyes, I am also passionate about helping people live life free from the sin of pornography. At the age of 17 years old, I came across a pornographic movie on accident, and since that day, I was hooked for almost 10 years. I also discerned and studied for the priesthood during that time. So unfortunately, being a seminarian was not enough to help me break my habit. 

My last year of seminary was a pastoral year, during which I met the woman who is now my wonderful wife. I left at the end of that year, and she and I began dating very quickly. We got married less than a year later. During the dating phase of our relationship, I was able to avoid pornography use. However, during our engagement phase, I had a relapse for a time. One week before the wedding, I knew I needed to disclose this to my fiancé. To get married while having a problem with pornography that is not disclosed is grounds for an annulment, and I knew she deserved to know so that she could make an informed decision. After I told her, she was devastated. Seeing how much this hurt her was enough for me to quit for good. I had used Covenant Eyes before, and I reinstalled it the very next day. I have remained porn-free since that very day over 4 years ago now. Glory to Jesus Christ!

I will focus my first few articles on the problem of pornography, but if you are reading this and struggling with pornography, whether you are married, single, engaged, ordained, professed religious, or otherwise, please know this: God loves you so much. He has called you to live in peace, joy, and freedom. I know the freedom that comes from setting this aside and not living any longer with secrets. It is such a gift, and I want to help you get to that place. Our mission here at Catholic Intimacy is to help marriages to be holy. Pornography is wounding and destroying marriages. The statistics say that 56% of divorces entail one spouse having an obsessive interest in pornography. Not only is this true for 56% of civil divorces, but a priest I know and trust has said that this is true of 50% of annulment cases in the Catholic Church! In those cases, one spouse has a pornography problem. This is not to say that pornography is always the grounds for nullity that are being argued. It is to say that pornography accompanies serious marriage problems in the world and the church at least half of the time. This is huge. 

If you are reading this and you want to break free from pornography, let me help you! Yes you can get a friend, a priest, or someone you know. I do not recommend having your spouse if you are married. If you invest in a professional accountability partner, though, you can rest assured that I will charitably but firmly hold you accountable. The gift of Covenant Eyes is that it holds you accountable apart from your willingness to be honest, but as an employee, I also know the stories people tell about how they sin anyway or about the occasional loophole or software malfunction that comes up, and so I know all of the right questions to ask. Further, I can advise you on how to make great use of other Covenant Eyes resources that will benefit you in your recovery. 

As your accountability partner, I will meet with you for one hour each month, and I will be available to you in between sessions via Slack. If you do not currently have a Covenant Eyes account, sign up to get your first 30 days free using the promo code “intimacy”. Then sign up for your first session with me as your accountability partner. I look forward to walking this journey with you to freedom.