Vatican goes green, adds new sins

Thou shalt not pollute the earth. Thou shalt beware genetic manipulation. In keeping with modern times, the Vatican has updated the "deadly" sins with "social sins" that besides calling for a green conscience, include littering, excessive wealth and drug abuse.

The guidance came at the weekend when Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, the Vatican's number two man in the sometimes murky area of sins and penance, spoke of modern evils.

"You offend God not only by stealing, taking the Lord's name in vain or coveting your neighbour's wife, but also by wrecking the environment, carrying out morally debatable experiments that manipulate DNA or harm embryos," said Girotti, who is responsible for the body that oversees confessions.

Asked what he believed were today's "new sins", he told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that the greatest danger zone for the modern soul was the largely uncharted world of bioethics. "(Within bioethics) there are areas where we absolutely must denounce some violations of the fundamental rights of human nature through experiments and genetic manipulation whose outcome is difficult to predict and control," he said.

The Vatican opposes stem cell research that involves destruction of embryos and has warned against the prospect of human cloning. Girotti, in an interview headlined, "New Forms of Social Sin", listed "ecological" offences as modern evils.

"The sins of today have a social resonance as well as an individual one," said Girotti. "In effect, it is more important than ever to pay attention to your sins." In recent months, Pope Benedict has made several strong appeals for the protection of the environment, saying issues like climate change had become gravely important.