“Thou Shall Not Clone Thy Neighbor”
By Kiah Vandergrift and Melissa Camp
Greed, sloth, wrath, gluttony, envy, pride, and lust. You may recognize these as the seven deadly sins, but did you know that as of March 12th, there are seven more things to steer clear of. The Vatican updated the previous list by adding another list of sins that relate to modern times. Drug users beware, abusing drugs in among the new list for its ability to weaken the mind and pollute the soul. Stem cell research, think again, these “morally dubious” experiments have also been shunned by the Pope Benedict XVI, himself. You may want to think twice before throwing your Snickers wrapper out of the car window, Catholicism is going green! Excessive wealth and extreme poverty are hot topics, considering that three of the seven sins are dedicated to their elimination. Extreme wealth is obscene in the eyes of the Pope, and contributing to the growing gap between rich and poor will result in eternal damnation. Bill Gates and the Hilton family…..watch your backs. Birth control is another “no-no” for its “bioethical violation” on the human body.
The reaction to these new and improved sins has been overwhelmingly negative. People feel like this new list is too “politically correct” and skips over the more important things in the world, such as pedophilia and dog fighting (cough, cough…Michael Vick). Another area of disapproval is that the Vatican and the Pope have a lavish lifestyle, which could be contributing the expanding gap between rich and poor, making that sin rather hypocritical. Some find it strange that birth control and poverty are on par considering their vast differences. It is difficult to say how much actual influence this list may have upon people, considering how church attendance is at an all time low. Do people care enough to change their ways, or will they ignore the new list and possibly suffer the consequences. We may never know for sure.
