Recycle or Else!

Well, bad news if you are Catholic. The list of forbidden behaviours just got a bit longer. In addition to the traditional list of sins (Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, and Sloth), one must guard against the following:

* Environmental pollution
* Genetic manipulation
* Accumulating excessive wealth
* Inflicting poverty
* Drug trafficking and consumption
* Morally debatable experiments
* Violation of fundamental rights of human nature

For an act to qualify as a mortal sin, it must meet three criteria:
1. its subject must be a grave (or serious) matter;
2. it must be committed with full knowledge, both of the sin and of the gravity of the offense;
3. it must be committed with deliberate and complete consent.

Consequence?

Risk burning in hell for all eternity.

Any way out?

Absolution through confession and penitance.

Not to be confused with a venial sin. These are sins that meet at least one of these criteria:
1. it does not concern a “grave matter”,
2. it is not committed with full knowledge, or
3. it is not committed with both deliberate and complete consent.

A venial sin can be forgiven and typically requires penance.

Think of this as the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor.

The Church is to be commended for recognizing the need to address contemporary evils. Father Gerald O’Collins, former professor of moral theology at the Papal University in Rome, and teacher of many of the Catholic Church’s current top Cardinals and Bishops, remarked “it was interesting that these remarks came from the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary. I can’t remember a time when it was so concerned about issues such as environmental pollution and social injustice. It’s a new way of thinking.”