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