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Seven deadly sins, 21st century style

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Also by Alex Brousseau:

Amid threats, church keeps homeless shelter (March 11, 2008)
Huckabee, McCain present opposition stances (February 19, 2008)
Clinton, Obama hold similar views, clash on strategy (February 19, 2008)
Playing the system (January 30, 2008)
Lifestyles of the governor and first lady (December 12, 2007)

by Alex Brousseau

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Pride, envy, gluttony, lust, wrath, greed and sloth. Pope Gregory the Great established these as the seven deadly sins in the 6th century.

Fifteen centuries later, the Church has introduced a new list of seven deadly sins applicable to modern age: excessive wealth, drug dealing, abortion, pedophilia, genetic engineering, social injustice and pollution.

These new sins, like the seven before them, are considered mortal sins. As stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a “moral sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its oppression to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice.”

If one does not confess a mortal sin prior to death, according to the Catholic Church, that person’s soul descends immediately into Hell, because a mortal sin is the gravest of violations against God and his laws found in the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments.

“The Decalogue is divided into two categories: sins that affront God and sins against your neighbor,” said Father Eric Nielsen, a pastor at St. Paul’s Catholic Church on State Street. “The new 21st-century sins are a part of the latter half of the Decalogue because they are against our neighbor; they are social sins.”

The first of the new sins is excessive wealth, which, according to the Church, can separate the connection between man and God.

Nielsen noted wealth can lead humans to act with little thought for society, laws or their fellows.

“Am I able to believe in God and recognize his gifts, or do I believe that I am my own God?” Nielsen asked.

Along with the idea of poverty comes the sin of social injustice, which relates to rich countries and peoples taking advantage of the less fortunate. According to Nielsen, social injustice can limit the poor through inferior education, scarce job prospects or unfair laws.

Perhaps the most controversial new sin is genetic engineering, which has some scientists, students and Roman Catholics alike concerned.

“We may enhance human life, but not replace or manipulate it,” Nielsen said. “It is permissible and laudable to help people overcome faults in existence such as blindness. But to simply conceive children, then use science to let only those who are genetically superior live or manipulate their genes is manufacturing children for ourselves.”

In this aspect, the Church is concerned with this ever-growing scientific field and its ability to “play God” by manipulating genes. According to the Church, humans were made in God’s image, and we shouldn’t attempt to alter that makeup.

A bigger surprise to some is the new sin of pollution, which the Church opposes for destroying a gift of God, our world.

“The Church is promoting environmentalism and the need for moderate use and distribution of the world’s resources,” Nielsen said.

Along with these other new sins are drug dealing and pedophilia, both of which, according to the Church, are immoral and inflict pain upon others.

Despite their biblical basis, these new sins have students talking about their implications in the everyday modern world.

Junior Katie Behrens, undergraduate peer minister at St. Paul’s, agrees with the new list, calling them “the oldest sins in the newest ways.”

“I think it’s really great that [the Church] came out and basically is telling Catholics and the world that these things are not OK just to let go by,” Behrens said.

”A lot of these [new sins] fit under the original seven deadly sins,” agreed freshman Megan Shiroda. “More importantly, all, except genetic engineering, fit under what Jesus said, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’”

Both students said these sins tie into the important process of modernizing the Catholic Church.

“It’s necessary for the church to keep up with changing times and how we commit sins,” Behrens said.

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Anonymous (April 3, 2008 @ 12:06pm):

Odd, the Republican Party seems to support half of these new sins. As does the Catholic Church itself. I doubt this will really catch on, nor will Se7en be remade.

Anonymous (April 3, 2008 @ 3:12pm):

but they could call it Se2en!

Anonymous (April 3, 2008 @ 4:12pm):

This is an urban legend. Stop repeating it already. There are not seven new "deadly sins."

Also, the seven deadly sins are not necessarily "mortal sins." That's a completely different concept.

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