Winona-Rochester Bishop Robert Barron was among several chairmen of committees within the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) who have asked lawmakers to address the risks and exploitations faced by minors online.

“Online child exploitation threatens the safety and well-being of our young people and destroys families and communities,” the bishops said in a letter to U.S. congressional representatives. “The ability of a child to grow into adulthood in peace and security is both a human right and a demand of the common good: the dignity of the human person requires protections for our young people so that they may flourish as they mature."

In the letter, the bishops mention the accessibility of online content, social media platforms, apps, calling them avenues that expose children to a variety of dangers. The bishops issued a plea to lawmakers, asking them to implement stronger protective measures that would shield children from harmful online influences, including pornography and violence, the USCCB said in a release. 

"As pastors, we have seen the destructive effects of the reprehensible offenses of child exploitation firsthand," the bishops’ letter said in part. "And as leaders of an institution that, for many years, failed to meet its responsibility to protect all children, we know all too well the consequences of a culture that fails to give adequate attention to the problem of child sexual exploitation. While the exploitation of children has always been a problem, in recent years, it has increased exponentially, in large part due to the Internet and mobile technology."

Technology is not the only problem, though it has exacerbated the challenge, the bishops said.

"Online child exploitation occurs in many forms, from the creation and distribution of child pornography to the inducement to engage in dangerous and self-destructive activities," the bishops said in their letter. "Often, children are targeted due to their immaturity, using their precious innocence to manipulate and harm them. But children are also exploited simply because the Internet contains a multitude of materials that are not intended for child consumption but are nevertheless easily available. Children often accidentally encounter pornography, depictions of extreme violence, and other destructive media that is harmful to young people."

The letter was jointly written and signed by Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr. (Chairman of the Committee on Protection of Children & Young People), Archbishop Borys Gudziak (Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development), Bishop Robert P. Reed (Chairman of the Committee on Communications), and Barron (Chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth), the USCCB said.