List of man’s deadly sins is growing

Last week I explained the meaning of the “traditional” seven deadly sins. Today I want to unravel the significance of the new set of seven deadly sins that Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, a spokesperson for Vatican, suggested in an interview in the Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper. These new seven sins have more of a social aspect to them.

They are environmental pollution, genetic manipulation, accumulating excessive wealth, inflicting poverty, drug trafficking and consumption, morally debatable experiments, and violation of fundamental rights of human beings.

• Environmental pollution: The Book of Genesis tells us that God created the universe and put human beings in charge to take care of the earth and its environment. Most rational people today would admit that we have not done a very good job in our role as stewards of God’s creation. We have polluted our water and air. Global warming is a reality.

The good news is that we are starting to become conscious of the damage we have done to our environment and ourselves. Yet where does sin come in? It’s an attitude. Do we care about God’s creation? Do we want to take care of our environment so that cancer and other diseases will not be as widespread? Are we willing to live simply so that others may simply live?

• Genetic manipulation: The Bishop suggested that the realm of biotechnology was especially dangerous because destroying an embryo was equal to murder. However, scientists have found other ways to reproduce cells that do not come from an embryo so that one day they might come up with a way to treat Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases that cause so much suffering.

• Accumulating excessive wealth: If you reduce the world to ten people, what would be their attitude toward each other? They would need each other for various goods and services. They would probably make sure that everyone worked together for the common good. If someone got sick, they would probably all chip in to help this sick person get well. One person would not get rich at the expense of someone else.

What has happened in our society is that we have forgotten that we need each other. The gap between the rich and the poor has widened. Recently, an oil company executive retired with a $400 million pension. That sounds quite excessive to me.

• Inflicting poverty: Every worker should receive a decent living wage for their work. Those who take advantage of other human beings and pay them less than a living wage are basically “inflicting poverty.” This may also include the failure to share our goods with those in need.

• Drug trafficking and consumption: Drugs and alcohol are an escape for people who don’t have God in their lives and cannot face the demands of life. Look how many lives are lost by people who are selling or taking drugs. This is not a Columbian problem. This is an American problem.

• Morally debatable experiments: Cloning is a good example of what the Bishop was talking about in his statement. Just because we can do it does not mean we should do it.

• Violation of fundamental rights of human nature: This would condemn acts like torturing another human being, enslaving others, treating people as things and not persons, denying prisoners the right to a fair trial, etc.

Where do you draw the line? Years ago, Mohandas Gandhi came up with his version of the seven deadly sins. I think they are legitimate for our world today: “Wealth without Work, Pleasure without Conscience, Science without Humanity, Knowledge without Character, Politics without Principle, Commerce without Morality, and Worship without Sacrifice.”