"The updated list was published in the Vatican newspaper, hardly an outlet for satire. I've repeated it here. Marcus, how do you mean, I missed the greenie bit?"

Linz, I think the point was they were claimed to be added to the list of "mortal sins", whereas in fact they were supposed to be merely a highlighting of "social sins", of which the concept has been in the catholic church since hell-eternal.

As for the Greenie bit, I must have blinked

I thought that could have been made more of, especially in the light of the popes moves towards green issues, which the daily mail disputed a while back.

The updated list was published in the Vatican newspaper, hardly an outlet for satire. I've repeated it here. Marcus, how do you mean, I missed the greenie bit? I listed it, then reinforced it with the part about going to Hell for not recycling.

Some folk here on the greenie stuff?

Are you referring to this? Well, then, Linz's article is not too far wrong then. It appears from this not to be a deliberate spoof as you make out, but simply a mistaken exaggeration of statements made by Bishop Girotto.
................................................

"Contrasting an older understanding of sin as more individualistic in nature, Bishop Girotto noted that sin "today...has an impact and resonance that is above all social, because of the great phenomenon of globalization." He pointed to a number of "social sins" (by now a familiar term to Catholics accustomed to hearing it applied to racism, sexism and anti-Semitism). Among those he mentioned were economic injustice, environmental irresponsibility, accumulation of excessive wealth and genetic experimentation with unforeseen consequences.

The media's reporting, however, transmogrified this into something different. "Seven New Deadly Sins," wrote the Times Online, mistaking the main point of the interview, which was that these new social sins were in fact different in nature for those more individualist "deadly sins," which focused more on regulating a variety of human passions. "Vatican Lists New Sinful Behavior," wrote the Associated Press, as if accumulating excessive wealth hadn't been already condemned by the church for centuries, and, before that by--well, Jesus for one.

My guess is that some in the media bobbled this story for two reasons, neither of them malicious. First, a general unfamiliarity with the contemporary Catholic tradition of social sin, even though under Pope John Paul II something like "anti-Semitism" was often referred to in those terms. And, second, the fact that a headline that reads "Seven New Deadly Sins" is undeniably sexier than a headline saying, "Vatican Official Deepens Church's Reflection on Longstanding Tradition of Social Sin."

The Vatican's intent seemed to be less about adding to the traditional "deadly" sins (lust, anger, sloth, pride, avarice, gluttony, envy) than reminding the world that sin has a social dimension, and that participation in institutions that themselves sin is an important point upon which believers needed to reflect.

In other words, if you work for a company that pollutes the environment, you have something more important to consider for Lent than whether or not to give up chocolate."

http://www.americamagazine.org...

First it was Perigo, then Newberry, and now Girotti.

Folks, it's a giant piss-take! If you'd read it first in The Onion, would you even have blinked?

...however, I'm surprised Linz missed having a dig at the new embrace of environmentalism by this Green pope.

Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican body which oversees confessions and plenary indulgences:

“You offend God not only by stealing, blaspheming or coveting your neighbour’s wife, but also by ruining the environment, carrying out morally debatable scientific experiments, or allowing genetic manipulations which alter DNA or compromise embryos,” he said.

Remember that these are considered to be mortal sins.

"The Catholic Church holds mortal sins to be “grave violations of the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes”, including murder, contraception, abortion, perjury, adultery and lust.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into Hell”.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t...

How about this for an update of punishments:

Environmental pollution - Smothered in Gore and smeared in Obama

Genetic manipulation - Plastic surgery to look like Pope Benedict XVI

Accumulating excessive wealth - Deported to Cuba

Inflicting poverty - Thrown down an oil well

Drug trafficking and consumption - Severing of limbs by Rowan Williams

Morally debatable experiments - Forced to eat laboratory rats, worms and slime mold.

Violation of fundamental rights of human nature - Pelted with hardcover copies of the God delusion.

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Brilliant as usual, Linz!

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