Vatican Lists New Sin: DNA Manipulation

Church Official Also Lists Drugs And Pollution As Sins With "Social Resonance"

(AP)  Sinning has gone global, according to a Vatican official who has singled out genetic experiments, pollution and mind-damaging drugs as among today's new sins.

Also receiving fresh attention by the Vatican are society's injustices, along the lines of the age-old maxim: "The rich get richer while the poor get poorer."

After last year's "Ten Commandments" against road rage and other sins committed behind the wheel, the Vatican has provided its latest update on how God's law is being violated with modern means.

"The poor are always becoming poorer and the rich ever more rich, feeding unsustainable social injustice," Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano in an interview published Sunday.

Girotti was asked what, in his opinion, are the "new sins."

He cited "violations of the basic rights of human nature" through genetic manipulation; drugs which "weaken the mind and cloud intelligence" as well as imbalances between rich and poor.

"If yesterday sin had a rather individualistic dimension, today it has a weight, a resonance, that's especially social, rather than individual," said the monsignor, whose office deals with matters of conscience and grants absolution.

Vatican officials stressed that Girotti's comments broke no new ground on what constitutes sin.

Both Benedict and the late Pope John Paul II frequently expressed concern about the environment. Under Benedict's papacy, Vatican engineers developed plans for some Holy See buildings to use solar energy, including photovoltaic cells on the roof of the auditorium for pilgrims' audiences with the pontiff.

John Paul dedicated much of his long papacy to condemning the gap between have and have-nots in speeches in his travels throughout the world as well as in writings.

Closer to home, Girotti was asked about the many "situations of scandal and sin within the Church," in what appeared to be a reference to allegations in the U.S. and several other countries of sexual abuse by clergy of minors and coverups by hierarchy.

The monsignor acknowledged the "objective gravity" of the allegations, but contended that the heavy coverage by mass media of the scandals must also be denounced because it "discredits the Church."

Benedict has been leading the Vatican's campaign against abortion, and Girotti was asked about the "widespread perception" that the Church does not consider women's "difficult" predicament.

Girotti rejected that view, saying that Catholic organizations help unwed mothers, educating "their children who come into the worth because of their lack of foresight" and facilitating adoption.

Last year, the Vatican took on the social problem of road accidents, issuing a kind of "Ten Commandments" for drivers against the sins of road rage, alcohol abuse and even rudeness behind the wheel.

[pugster]

I like to see those geniuses see where in the bible tells them specifically that DNA Manipulation is a sin.

[rushlimpdrug]

Thank God.
Starting today things are going to change cause everyone lives and dies by what these guys say.

[rushman71]

1. Thou shalt not pick nose in public
2. Thou shalt not flirt with a nun
3. Thou shalt not faart in the pew (PEEE-YEW)
4. Thou shalt not look down a ladies blouse sitting next to you
5. Thou shalt not look cross-eyed at the cross
6. Thou shalt not sing "He11''s Bells" in Church
7. Thou shalt not drink tequila before receiving Communion

[strefo-2009]

So, I wonder...when the science is available to correct genetic mutations, such as BRCA, will THAT be a sin for it will most certainly mean manipulating DNA? Hmmm.

[rushlimpdrug]

"Vatican Lists New Sin: DNA Manipulation"

Now they tell me.
What am I suppose to do with all the equipment and the freaks in the cages?

[displeased]

I like to see those geniuses see where in the bible tells them specifically that DNA Manipulation is a sin.
Posted by pug_ster

We have to give the humans with authority to adjust "God''s word" time to make the necessary modifications enabling religion to adapt to modern times.

[cj7jeepstir]

I guess someone at the vatican decided they hadn''t done enough this year to drive more people away from their church. What a sad, pathetic anachronism.

[cosmic-one]

the oldest sin is the vatican...

[godofredo29]

Maybe they should start with the commandments that are missing from the Ten Commandments, like: Thou shalt not abuse the children.

[rational_1]

"...and the widening social and economic differences between the rich and the poor."

So being a socialist/communist is now virtuous? Just in time for old Fidel before he croaks! LOL

[cj7jeepstir]

Maybe they should start with the commandments that are missing from the Ten Commandments, like: Thou shalt not abuse the children.

Posted by godofredo29 at 01:52 PM : Mar 10, 2008

Amen bro.

---------------
"Vatican Lists New Sin: DNA Manipulation"

Now they tell me.
What am I suppose to do with all the equipment and the freaks in the cages?

Posted by rushlimpdrug at 01:46 PM : Mar 10, 2008

GREAT!! I''m still laughing!!

[rushlimpdrug]

I like to see those geniuses see where in the bible tells them specifically that DNA Manipulation is a sin.
Posted by pug_ster


Jesus said it in the sermon just before he turned the water into wine.
It was in the same sermon where he said it was a sin to assemble withouth any wine.

[inventagod]

This would be fine and dandy if everyone believed there was some big daddy/santa god in some cloud with a lightning bolt ready to smite you...

Someone let the Vaticon know we have moved on...

[lfitts1]

Moral authority--this from the people who looked the other way when the priests were sexually molesting children--who gives a hoot what these idiots have to say??? They have condoned pedophilia ergo they have NO moral authority !!!

[walt1944-2009]

Apparently, God has revealed to the pope a new list of sins, which He forgot to put on the 10 Commandments, which He gave Moses 3,000 years ago.

Among the "new" sins listed are the use of drugs, pollution, and DNA experimentation. It is puzzeling why God would "forget" to put drug use on the tablets He gave Moses, after all people have been snorting and getting drunk for thousands of years. When it comes to pollution, again, mankind has been dirtying up the planet for just as long, but maybe God is afraid we will start shooting our trash into outer space: first the earth, next the universe!

And with DNA, I can see where God might get nervous with the possibility that our crazy scientists might put together something (or someone) we wouldn''t want them to (like another Hitler, or an army of George W. Bushs (how sickening!)).

So, maybe it''s a good thing that God did speak to Pope Benedict. After all, He is supposed to have been talking to every other televangist out there, including the Great Emperor Bush II in the Rose Garden!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!
sig heil, McCain????

[yongamerica]

The pope''s word ain''t worth poooop

[stephanienym]

He said Church authorities had reacted with "rigorous measures" to child abuse scandals within the clergy, but he also claimed that the issue had been excessively emphasized by the media.

You%u2019re kidding right? This is the kind stinking thinking that keeps that church in denial. I hardly think they have the right to pass judgment on what constitutes a %u201Csin". This group of closet case pedophiles need to get a grip, no one cares what they think is a sin because they are the biggest sinners of all time. Blaming their sick sexual dysfunctional acts on the media is unbelievable because if it weren%u2019t for the media they would still be raping little boys and getting away with it. The Vatican got caught with their pants down and with their d i c k in their hands%u2026I really don%u2019t think they have a leg to stand on when it comes to announcing what is and what isn%u2019t a sin, they really need to focus on their own sins and not mine!

[rushlimpdrug]

Hey, wouldn''t have it been crazy had those folks way back after reading some boring lineage of Abraham it would have finished up with, "and thou shall not manipulate DNA"

Now that would have funny stuff.

I could see some of them asking, "What the helll is DNA?"

[caliengineer]

The Roman Catholic church is moving for "globalization." They are adopting New Age stances and pandering to Islam.
At Mecca, there is a comet - a space rock - in the Kabbah. This is the square building they circle, pray toward and bow to during the Hajj. This is the direction all muslims face when they pray - toward a space rock.

This space rock is an idol, a false substitute for the real rock: Jesus Christ.

Recently, pursuing his goal of unifying the two apostate religions, Islam and Catholicism (paganism mixed with Jesus) into one super, "universal" (global) religion - The pope bowed and worshipped to Mecca, to the space rock, to the idol of Islam.

If any Catholic is reading this, listen to an ex-Catholic: you need to choose: Catholicism or Christ.

[sevenveils]

The Vatican needs to be recognized for what it is: a relic from the Dark ages, which given its own way would still have the world live in the dark ages, believing the world is flat and the universe revolves around the earth. The Vatican is the largest and oldest international corporation that sells nothing but deceit, untruths and lies. It is led by a religious leader who manipulates Christianity to the Vatican''s political and monetary advantage; like a little kid changing the rules of a monopoly game.

It is time to cast off the ways of the ancient past and seek enlightenment from more truthful sources.

[displeased]

They forgot an important one:

For mankind to flourish and survive, thou shall establish and maintain separation of church and state.

[sigotratando]

Sin, by definition, is a divergence from the path of God''s will. It seems to me that there has been some evolution of the concept of sin -- or maybe its an evolution of the Church!

I''m not exactly sure what "certain violations of the fundamental rights of human nature..." means, but I would have thought they would laud DNA manipulations in order that we fix whatever corruption produces gay people!

The church has always been a few hundred years behind science & its benefits. Judging from their stand on things, really, we should all just live with (or die from) whatever ails us & pray for healing? Maybe it is "damaging to society as a whole" to keep old people around so long, when really they should head off & meet their Maker according to natural selection or something.

"Sins increasingly manifest themselves as behavior that damages society as a whole... social resonance..." The implication is that what affects the social is in the area of the moral as it pertains to godliness. Or is it only the area of the social where moral intersects? Unfortunately, what is social/moral is not black & white; & the church certainly is no seer of the future. So how wld it know what thing might benefit OR harm the social.

Their pronouncement presumes upon the Grace of an infinite God, establishing the equivalent of a preemptive strike against an unrealized or imagined enemy.

[extremophil]

Did ya hear about the new diet communion wafer? It''s called "I can''t believe it''s not Jesus".

[tacal03]

I beleive that the bible has been created by Man to Control the People. Just Being a Good person and Having A Belief is good enough in my book.

[jankebenz]

SIN IS defined in the Bible.

The BIBLE is the authority.

NOT the Catholic Church.

Posted by singinrick at 02:29 PM : Mar 10, 2008

A big AMEN to that

[rushlimpdrug]

Plain and simple:

Sin is an instrument of guilt for control of the masses by the priveleged few.

Don''t knock it, it works.

[vet999999]

A Vatican official has listed drugs, pollution, genetic manipulation and social and economic injustices as new areas of sinful behavior.

They forgot child molestation and rape.....

[sevenveils]

Funny thing, the Catholic church is in gross violation of three of the new "deadly sins". These are: being obscenely rich, pedophilia and causing social injustice.

[sigotratando]

A Vatican official has listed drugs, pollution, genetic manipulation and social and economic injustices as new areas of sinful behavior.

Seems to me that drugs, pollution, social/economic injustices are NOT "new areas" at all. And hybridizing plants & cross-breeding animals has been around for since at least Leviticus noted it -- DNA is simply a more direct route. At what point weren''t these things "social" as much as having an "individualistic dimension"? They certainly can''t be saying they *just* now noticed?

[sevenveils]

The BIBLE is the authority - singinrick
What?? The bible has been changed to meet the political needs of religious leaders to maintain control of a large population. What the bible says today and what it said a thousand years ago is completely different.

[stn_sage]

1. Ooh, clever & possibly accurate observance sevenveils!

2. Isn''t it ironic, the church hierarchy says woman can''t be priests & priests can''t marry because the bible and church law is static, unchanging, & everlasting---but, then attempts to define ''new sins'' in the secular world, outside the bible, and probably subject to change as needed? This is just a little too bit convenient and why American Catholics should split off from Rome!

[DaveGress]

How can anyone take a guy seriously when he''s dressed in a clown suit?

[jimbo554]

No DNA manipulation.... And this from a religion based on a virgin getting pregnant. Go figure!

[sigotratando]

The bible has been changed to meet the political needs of religious leaders to maintain control of a large population. What the bible says today and what it said a thousand years ago is completely different.
Posted by sevenveils

I wouldn''t say "completely different", but I would agree that the translation & nuance of the Bible has been changed thru time by lexicographers & scribes (to mention the most obvious) to suit issues & biases of the time; as well as translation of notions & concepts that the languages to which it was being translated did not contain. For instance, the two Hebrew words for "sin" translated as a single word in English. Another problem, but not necessarily changes in the words, is contemporary understanding of a term 4 definitions removed from its original meaning: viz., ''nature''.

[rushlimpdrug]

Evidently you''''ve never heard of the dead sea scrolls. . .
Posted by singinrick at 03:07 PM

I haven''t are they good?
Are they planning a tour?
Where can I get tickets?
Do they need a guitar player?

[displeased]

No DNA manipulation.... And this from a religion based on a virgin getting pregnant. Go figure!
Posted by Jimbo554

She drank a little wine, passed out, and woke up pregnant. This is common when you allow a stranger to bring you a drink.

[sevenveils]

Evidently you''''ve never heard of the dead sea scrolls. Singingrick

And apparently you don''t know that 90% of what is in them isn''t in the bible, they were lost until recently you know. And remind yourself that the majority of the dead sea scrolls have not been made available to the public because the historians are still interpreting them scientifically and not to some religious leaders taste.

Perhaps you should become aware of the recent collection of bibles from various centuries that is being shown in Europe and US cities highlight how the wording and interpretation has changed, significantly in many places.

Also you should study the history of Christianity outside of the King Jame''s version and see how the Catholic church rose and how Christianity became what it is today. And please don''t burn me at the stake for telling you the truth. Having knowledge outside what is taught in the bible doesn''t make me a witch.

[cdc806]

Oh my god! Todays articles are funny. I look every day to see where is can sin more often. If the world if filled with all of these religous bible thumpers. I am not sure if I even WANT to go to heaven. I cant take a dump without someone saying wipe back to front or you will go to hell. Perhaps, I am getting to that point where I dont wanna ba around all these nutjobs! SO what if you sin, when you die your gonna have a funera and everyone is going to say "he/she is in in a better place now". SO by default you go to heaven. To conclude, I am going to sin as much as possible so that when I die. I will go somewhere other that heaven. LMAO That is where the "real" heaven is. So... hit me with you best shot... da da cmon and hit me with you best shot!! Fire away!!!

lotsa love

CORN

[sandy19731]

Irrelevant story

[quetzal0666]

If we can ever find the Gene for the Mental Health Disease called Religion, i would think we caould eradicate it and be done with Religious based wars for God, and that would be a good thing..

[dnamj]

Wow, I always hoped I''d sin for a living, but I never thought I''d be doing it as a geneticist.

[displeased]

I''''ve already accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and I know where I''''m going when I die. Do you?
Posted by singinrick

Nobody knows. You might think you know from a belief but that doesn''t make it a fact. You are an ignorant human like the rest of us.

[toolmangler-2009]

Jerks; there is ''NO'' new ''Sin'', a sin is "ANYTHING" that harms your relationship with GOD, If you don''t believe in GOD then so far as sin is concerned, you can''t commit one. You have complete freedom to do what you will (unless another human objects) Whoooppss!!! theres a rule there. It looks like the "godless" ones ''are'' accountable for what they do!! Shoot, might as well have a GOD then! I guess that "GOD or no God" you can''t do what you want when and how you want. Gene manipulation is no more sinful than abortion to save the Mothers life, It, like abortion ''can'' be used for sinful purposes. Religion is not sin, but it can be used for ''sinful'' purposes. The Catholic Church is not sin, but it is used for ''sinful'' purposes.

[kristommunis]

The Vatican should worry more about cleaning up their own sins that they have committed and are still committing rather than making up a whole new list.

[rushlimpdrug]

I''''''''ve already accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and I know where I''''''''m going when I die. Do you?
Posted by singinrick


I would guess you''re going to fill a hole in the ground unless you get cremated.

If you get cremated you will go in a jar.

[displeased]

Posted by singinrick

It amuses me that people still follow these religious theories that were developed by uneducated primitives who had no choice but to rely on delusional assumptions to answer their questions of existence.

[denn034]

Hitler supported DNA manipulation. Such is just a step towards racial purity and perfection. It also rejects and tries to improve upon God. The Catholics are right to make DNA manipulation a sin.

[denn034]

I forgot to express condolences to the Catholics after Mormon missionaries desecrated their holy sites and relics in Colorado. Go to the relevant site at http://www.ksl.com/ to see.

[displeased]

The problem isn''''t with the Catholic church calling something a "sin". The problem is that they put themselves as the authority above the Holy Scriptures!
Posted by singinrick

All religions do that. As one of god''s slaves, it''s your job to tell them they''re wrong. It''s arrogant of you to claim you are absolutely right and everybody else is wrong.

[denn034]

"people like you."
Posted by singinrick

What did I do?