Catholics, Old Sins, and Journalism

Not much new under the sun where it concerns sin. In terms of generations or centuries, man constantly struggles with his relationships to others and to God. However, folks now say we have new sins… even though Yahoo! News says “new sins” in quotes (just like me).

The first half stresses that the area of bioethics poses a grave threat in terms of the soul. The article mentions cloning and the use of human embryos in stem cell research specifically. New science, but the sin itself falls into old territory… at least I assume so.

The concern over the destruction of human embryos for stem cell research is the same concern over abortion. I’m unclear on the concern over cloning. I’m not diminishing anyone’s objections… I just don’t know what they are in terms of Catholic teachings. (I suspect they fall into established areas of concern.) Maybe those objections are part of what Yahoo! News refers to when they say “new sins”.

Perhaps I can shed some light on the subject regarding these so called new sins. The story actually comes from Yahoo! Green (oi gevalt). Just take three guesses as to the nature of these news sins… but the first two don’t count.

Vatican lists "new sins," including pollution
(Courtesy Yahoo! Green)

In an interview called "New Forms of Social Sin," Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti mentions “ecological” offences. Again, I’m going to run on the theory (which has rapidly been moving into Law territory) that journalists know nothing about Christianity, much less Catholicism. Even if some do, journalists seem to talk down to the non-Catholic folks at best or playing fast and loose with Catholicism so as not to confuse the audience… as if they are stupid and lazy. The title of Archbishop Girotti’s interview specifically says “New Forms”… meaning what? Not new sins, but old sins committed in new ways. Dolts.

Now, about this Green crap. If anything is driving me out of the Catholic Church, and there are a couple of forces currently at work (but my resolve is currently strong) it is this nonsensical rush to judgment by the Vatican to ring its hands over ecological concerns. The Vatican has “…hosted a scientific conference to discuss the ramifications of global warming and climate change…” which scares the Hell out of me. Not because I’m worried about Man Made Global Warming and the ever-vague Climate Change, but because a religious body concerned with souls and our relationship with God is hosting effing conferences on Green issues instead of the other issue in the article.

“Girotti, who is number two in the Vatican "Apostolic Penitentiary," which deals with matter of conscience, also listed drug trafficking and social and economic injustices as modern sins.”

Again with the social and economic injustices. The Church becomes more Socialist, or so it seems, all the time. However, that line didn’t bother me as much as what followed.

“But Girotti also bemoaned that fewer and fewer Catholics go to confession at all.”

The Archbishop, perhaps (at least by the tone of the article) as an afterthought, bemoans that Catholics don’t seem to confess much or at all.

Con-effing-fession!!! One of the critical steps to forgiveness for Catholics and this article pushes the false idea that there are new sins to the top.

I don’t know what frustrates me more… the idea that the Catholic Church continues to move to the Left, that Catholics seem to pick and choose the acts of faith they see fit to practice, or that non-Catholics regularly paint Catholicism without much correction or objection from Catholics.

Those three are obviously related, folks.

Think of this: some times conservatives don’t vote for Republicans or don’t show up at the polls at all. When? When conservative candidates don’t run… and the situation in elections is similar for Catholics in church and in faith.