Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput takes aim this week against the pornography industry and also calls Marine Gen. Peter Pace courageous for his comments deploring homosexuality.

"Note that Pace did not say, 'homosexual persons are evil,' " Chaput writes in this week's Denver Catholic Register. "He said that homosexual acts are wrong. And of course he's right."

Chaput was referring to March 12 comments by Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who sparked an uproar by saying he believes that homosexual acts, like adultery, are immoral.

"Most Americans clearly agree with General Pace," Chaput writes. "The only strange thing about his remarks was the theatrical wave of shock they generated from critics . . . We should respect his courage for saying it."

Chaput said the outrage over Pace's defense of "Western moral tradition" is a symptom of how dysfunctional the culture has become about sexuality.

When "toxic waste" is traced to polluting companies and bad policies, citizens quickly organize to stop the damage, he said.

"But very few people want to name the single biggest environmental crisis we face: a multibillion-dollar pornography industry that pours garbage into our homes every day through the Web and other media.

"Pornography is poison," Chaput concluded. "It should be controlled like any other toxic waste. And don't be fooled. This isn't 'censorship.' It's a matter of public health and common sense."