New Sins for Old

From the e-mail file -- a reply, dated March 14, on the subject of the Vatican's recent statement regarding "new" mortal sins. The list, taken from an article at Telegraph.co.uk, is: Genetic modification, carrying out experiments on humans, polluting the environment, causing social injustice, causing poverty, becoming obscenely wealthy and taking drugs. My comments:

These didn't just come out of the blue. In a sense they are modern-day applications of moral principles that the Church has always identified and expected people to adhere to. For example, drug abuse can be related to the admonition, "thou shalt not kill", applying it to oneself. (The Church has always condemned suicide.) Genetic modification, besides "playing God", could also be considered a form of violence, i.e. against the Creation. Ditto human experimentation. Pollution might come under the heading of violence in some cases, but it can also be considered a form of stealing, i.e. taking away a certain amount of the value or quality of life from others. The wealth thing is a bit trickier since even extreme wealth is not, by necessity, reflective of sin. But the probability that some form of theft or coercion was involved does increase as a person becomes wealthier, I would say -- just based on observation if not principle. And then the holding of much wealth could very easily reflect a lack of charity. Greed and selfishness relate to "desiring your neighbor's goods", i.e. not being satisfied with what you have if that is sufficient for your reasonable support. "Social injustice" (although I dislike the term) could partake of violence, greed, theft, and any number of other things.

One could argue that these "new sins" are much more subtle and nuanced, and less obvious, that the old reliable sins of the past. And yet, even those "obvious" sins of the past have not-so-obvious facets. For example, self-sterilization relates to "thou shalt not kill", and contraception relates to adultery in that it is also a case of separating the procreative from the sexual.

All I'm saying is that garment is still seamless. But there is no change in the fact that the individual must examine his own conscience on a regular basis and, when in doubt, see what the Church has to say.