The Vatican Introduces New Sins!

As if Catholics didn’t have enough to feel guilty about with the original “Seven Deadly Sins,” now there are seven new deadly sins and a “Driver’s 10 Commandments.” Yes, the Vatican, the symbol of moral purity, perfection, piety, and expert driving has come up with a list to guide us through life to help us escape eternal damnation.


The Seven New Mortal Sins

#1. Genetic Modification: Scientists genetically modifying food to alleviate starving in the third world - we can’t have that! That’s playing god. Only the Catholic Church has the moral authority to play god.



#2. Carrying out experiments on humans: So if you are an individual who is terminally ill but willing to try experimental drugs or surgery, that’s a sin? I think I would rather take my chances of eternal damnation.


#3. Polluting the environment: The Catholic Church and organized religion in general has been polluting minds by encouraging unreason (faith) and discouraging reason for time and memorial. I can accept this rule if it means that organized religion will cease to insist that their superstitions should be given the same respect as science in an academic setting. I won’t hold my breath.


#4. Causing social injustice: Oh, you mean like enabling priests to rape children by moving pedophile priests from parish to parish and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement thereby stopping victims from having their day in court?


#5. Causing Poverty: If the Vatican means causing poverty through theft, force, or fraud then I would agree (it seems to me that this was already covered by “thou shalt not steal”). How else does one “cause poverty” ?

#6. Becoming Obscenely Wealthy: Again, apparently this does not apply to the Catholic Church (this list was probably written with a solid gold jewel encrusted fountain pen). Most of the “obscenely wealthy” derive their wealth from providing/producing useful goods and services people want and/or need (apparently the Vatican has never heard of what Adam Smith called “the invisible hand”). The Catholic Church produces nothing but false fear and false hope to individuals and derives its obscene wealth from millions of individuals, many of which could be described as poor (It seems that the Catholic Church has been violating sin #5 since it’s not-so-immaculate inception!). Perhaps the Pope should read Atlas Shrugged to get an idea of what might happen if the men and women of the mind decided to follow this rule by not pursuing “selfish profits” by going on strike. If nothing else, the Pope should read Francisco’s money speech where he asks the following: “So you think that money is the root of all evil? Have you ever asked what is the root of money?”

#7. Taking Drugs: I guess the Catholic Church will have to use grape juice instead of wine for communion like the protestants do.

The “Driver’s Ten Commandments”



#1. You shall not kill: I seem to remember this being one of the original Ten Commandments; seems redundant.

#2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.

#3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.

#4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.

#5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin: Oh, like the Pope Mobile? [pictured above] Whenever the Pope starts driving a Pinto or a used Volkswagen, maybe I could read this commandment without bowling over in laughter.

#6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.

#7. Support the families of accident victims.

#8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.

#9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.

#10. Feel responsible toward others.

It seems that most of these commandments should be intended for Phoenix Dioceses Bishop Thomas O’Brien. O’Brien fled the scene after hitting a pedestrian; his victim later died. While it turned out that the victim was drunk crossing the street after dark (something that happens quite often in Phoenix and probably every other major metropolitan area), there is no excuse for O’Brien failing to render aid to this person. Rather than being a responsible person, he fled the scene and tried to cover up the accident. Incredibly, O’Brien’s punishment was four years of probation with 1,000 hours of community service. To add insult to injury, O’Brien’s community service was not picking up trash along the highways in an orange jumpsuit (as what would happen to anyone else if they were lucky) but to “minister to the sick and dying.” Isn’t that what the men of the cloth are supposed to do anyway? That would be like punishing Eliot Spitzer’s prostitute by requiring her to turn 1,000 hours worth of tricks for free!

Clearly, there is a great deal of hypocrisy in all of these sins and commandments.

More heretical posts:

A Letter to Catholics

Atheist Atrocities (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

The Cult of the 12 Steps

The Virtue of Selfishness

John Galt (Part I – IV, Part V – VIII, and Part IX – XII)

The Mysterious Ica Stones

Memo: The Earth Doesn’t Move

Sunday School Science Lesson

The End of Faith (Book Review)

Can Mysticism Co-Exist with Reason and Liberty?