The Observer, March 28, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 22
Church's "new" sins aren't anything new
To the Editor:
The editorial on the Roman Catholic Church upset me, to say the least. As a Catholic I read about the new social sins online and called my mom to joke about them, with the same joke that "I mixed paper with plastic." However, I know that the Church isn't damning me to hell for putting my water bottle in the trash. It's just trying to get me to think before I toss it in the wrong bin.
Yes, the Church "made" new sins, but it was always wrong to abuse drugs, violate bioethics, etc. The Church's stance on birth control isn't anything new; neither is its stance on stem cell research. The creation of these social sins was to gain awareness for the guidelines for living that believers should follow. The sins already existed. The organization isn't expecting one billion Catholics to sell their SUVs and stop using condoms. It's expecting its members to think before they buy that SUV, which in no way can be construed as a bad thing. The issues have become more relevant recently, and the Church is attempting to make its stance on such matters well known.
The Catholic Church has had a past of social atrocities, but it has equally done a lot of good. The institution should not be attacked for attempting to make statements about social justice issues because of its past. Social justice is an important aspect of Catholic social teaching. Catholic Charities is one of the most influential, and respected, non-profit organizations in the area of social justice, and the Church's social justice impact reaches far beyond charities. The new sin of "excessive wealth" is vague, but its purpose is to demonstrate the teaching that we should care about the well being of our neighbors.
The social sins were created from pre-existing teachings of the Church to stress the issues in the existing political and social climate.
Sarah Pace
Undergraduate student
