New Social Sins Listed By The Vatican

Pollution is not just bad; it’s a sin, according to the Catholic Church.

The church has announced a new list of "social sins" to go along with the seven deadly sins that have been around for centuries. The new sins are a more modern concept of sinning created in the past 40 to 50 years. A Vatican official, who heads the office that issues decisions on matters of conscience, was asked by the Vatican newspaper what are the new sins. He cited creating poverty, excessive wealth, abusing drugs, polluting the environment, anonymous blogging and other social concerns. The church says that while sin used to concern the individual, today it has a social resonance due to globalization. Moral theologians stress that the Vatican official's comments broke no new ground on what constitutes a sin. Some catholic experts say the emphasis on the social sins could be a preview of issues Pope Benedict the Sixteenth will address during his visit to the united state next month.