New sins

Posted at 11:23 AM on March 10, 2008 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)

A Vatican official has updated the list of sinful behavior. Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti said that sins increasingly manifest themselves as behavior that damages society as a whole, according to CNN.

Drugs, pollution and genetic manipulations as well as social and economic injustices are new areas of mortal sins.

The Times Online reported Girotti saying, "You offend God not only by stealing, blaspheming or coveting your neighbor's wife, but also by ruining the environment, carrying out morally debatable scientific experiments, or allowing genetic manipulations which alter DNA or compromise embryos."

Morally debatable scientific experiments? OK, that's easy. Allowing genetic manipulations which alter DNA? I understand.

But what constitutes "ruining the environment?" What does it mean to be a polluter? If one drives a car, one is clearly polluting. What if one throws the credit card offer in the trash, instead of the recycling bin?

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Comments (5)

And what about that black and white smoke they burn to announce their future papal candidacy?

As usual, The Vatican is confusing me with my game plan on how to not go to hell. This isn't easy, Bob!

Posted by Nick I. | March 10, 2008 12:43 PM

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But what constitutes "ruining the environment?" I guess that is for each persons priest to decide, if you confess to driving to work (and to get around town in general) to your preist and he gives you say 5 Hail Mary's. Then confess to say dumping a 10.8 million gallons of Prudhoe Bay crude oil into the sea. Well that might get you a few Lord's Prayer's added on (I would think ;)). Actually, being a RC myself I would guess that penitential acts would be based on the actual transgression. But also in one of the accounts I read is a number - that only 30% of RC’s go to confession.

Posted by Brian Hanf | March 10, 2008 1:00 PM

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I have a couple things to say on this topic.

1. The credit folks who INITIATE the credit card appllications in the mail are the ones who will go to hell for wasting. Actually they can just go to hell for all I care.

2.Brian, it is "i" before "e" except after "c" but who am I to talk about spelling?

3. I think that when we die we end up with "like souls." I am not at all like Hitler and so therefore I will not end up in the afterlife with Hitler, nor am I like Pawlenty, so I don't expect to see much of him either after the next 50 years or so. I think the key here is to like who you are. If you do then you have no worries where your soul travels onto after this lifetime.
That's what I think.

Posted by c | March 10, 2008 1:24 PM

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I'm actually wondering what they mean by 'genetic manipulation'. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it a priest that first made the discovery that selective breeding of bean plants could be used to develop bean plants that had desireable traits for cultivation? And what is selective breeding if its not 'genetic manipulation'?

Posted by bsimon | March 10, 2008 1:35 PM

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"Ruining the environment"...

Hmmm...

With that aerodynamic shape, I wonder what kind of mpg the Popemobile gets?

I'm assuming it, like Crispin Glover's car in the creepy, under-rated film, "The River's Edge", doesn't run "on God's own methane."

Then again, maybe it does.

Nonetheless, he who lives in a bulletproof glass car should not throw stones.

I mean, they'll just ricochet around in that little capsule.

Dangerous.

Posted by Brendon Etter | March 11, 2008 9:35 AM

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