Guidelines for St. Joseph’s Freedom Groups 

A. Ground rules: Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Bible, Papal Encyclicals, Church Documents

B. Single focus & solitary purpose: a confidential group to assist men in achieving freedom from pornography and sexual addiction

C. Exceptions to confidentiality: admissions of child abuse, or talk of suicide

D. Ecumenical guidelines: Men from all religious backgrounds are welcome to join these groups as long as they are comfortable with joining an explicitly Catholic group in its orientation, beliefs, and practices. The Catechism, the Sacrament of Penance, the Rosary, and prayers to St. Joseph and St. Michael are regularly used in meetings.

E. Leadership guidelines: Agreement with the 8 commitments of St. Joseph’s Covenant Keepers, the teaching magisterium of the Catholic Church, and approval of a priest advisor.

F. The Twelve No-No’s:

·     No last names, except among accountability partners

·     No requirement to talk during a man’s first three meetings

·     No contributions requested or accepted, other than minimal funds for purchasing literature and other materials

·     No membership lists, no fees

·     No welfare, financial support, or legal assistance provided to members of the group

·     No business promotions, transactions, sales, recruitment for networking businesses

·     No recruitment for religious movements, organizations, or invitations to meetings of such groups

·     No offices, bank accounts, mailing list creation

·     No political lobbying of any kind, including lobbying for anti-pornography legislation

·     No boycotts against pornographers (this is worthwhile and done by other groups, but not the focus of these groups)

·     No theological debating

·     No counseling – this is strictly a support group

G. Pure Mind Scripture Kits for Small Groups

Rev. 06-08-2005