A List of Sins By Any Other Name ...

Reading the major news outlets for the last week would lead one to believe that the Vatican has discovered new sins that could send a person to Hell. That is, I think, an incorrect interpretation of what happened.

The traditional list of mortal sins includes such things as: pride, lust, envy, and greed. Put forward about 1500 years ago, the traditional list focuses on individual attitudes and actions. What Bishop Gianfranco Girotti spoke of last week were more social, or communion, sins, such as: environmental pollution, accumulating excessive wealth, and inflicting poverty.

Therefore, it is not correct to say that the Vatican has just discovered pollution as a problem. Rather, the Roman Catholic Church seems to want to remind people that there are other dimensions of human actions that have an impact on others and on our own spiritual condition. People of faith should realize that living a life of greed is not good, and neither is contibuting to the damage of the environment.

While I have played with a lot of different things to add to this posting, such as discussing some of the 613 commandments to be followed by people of faith as found in Jewish scripture or thinking about Jesus' radical redefinition of sin as found in the Sermon on the Mount, I will stay with my original intent and ask one simple question. What actions or attitudes do you think should be included on a list of sins for the 21st century? (Canny people will discern that I am making another effort to generate some commentary.)

Consider your list and share it with me.