You may have heard that the Vatican revised the list of Seven Deadly Sins to emphasize that sin is not just an individual matter but has “social resonance.” The new list is:
- Drug abuse
- Morally debatable experimentation
- Environmental pollution
- Causing poverty
- Social inequality and injustice
- Genetic manipulation
- Accumulating excessive wealth
P.J. O’Rourke’s reaction to these new Seven Deadly Sins is hilariously tongue-in-cheek:
Not to argue theology with the Vatican, but environmental pollution is hardly among Satan’s strongest temptations. Pollution is not a passion we resist with an agony of will for the sake of our immortal souls. I’ve been to parties where all seven of the original deadlies were on offer in carload lots. Never once have I heard a reveler shout with evil glee, “Let’s dump PCBs in the Hudson River!” …Unfortunately Bishop Girotti’s late-model sins make as little sense as a Jeremiah Wright sermon. They have no gravitas. Imagine the reaction in the confessional when you say, “Father, I have littered.”
At some point I’ll have to draft up my own list of seven deadly sins. I think “smugness” might be at the top of the list. Kyrie Eleison!