10 Commandments for drivers

[Knighthawk LS1]

The Vatican has a new 10 Commandments for drivers

1. You shall not kill.
2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
4. Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of accidents.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
7. Support the families of accident victims.
8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
10. Feel responsible toward others.

Full article below:



Got road rage? The Vatican on Tuesday issued "Ten Commandments" for drivers, telling motorists to be charitable to others on the highway, to refrain from drinking and driving, and to pray you make it before you even buckle up.

An unusual document from the Vatican's office for migrants and itinerant people also warned that automobiles can be "an occasion of sin" — particularly when used to make a dangerous overtaking maneuver or when used by prostitutes and their clients.

It warned about the effects of road rage, saying driving can bring out "primitive" behavior in motorists, including "impoliteness, rude gestures, cursing, blasphemy, loss of sense of responsibility or deliberate infringement of the highway code."

Cardinal Renato Martino, who heads the office, told a news conference that the Vatican felt it necessary to address the pastoral needs of motorists because driving had become such a big part of contemporary life. He cited World Health Organization statistics that said an estimated 1.2 million people are killed in road crashes each year and as many as 50 million are injured.

"That's a sad reality, and at the same time, a great challenge for society and the church," he said.

He noted that the Bible was full of people on the move, including Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus — and that his office is tasked with dealing with all "itinerant" people on the roads — from refugees to prostitutes, truck drivers and the homeless.

The document, "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road," extols the benefits of driving — family outings, getting the sick to the hospital, allowing people to get to work and see other cultures.

But it laments a host of ills associated with automobiles: Drivers use their cars to show off; driving "provides an easy opportunity to dominate others" by speeding; and drivers can kill themselves and others if they don't get their cars regular tune-ups, if they drink, use drugs or fall asleep at the wheel.

It also pointed the finger at traffic problems particular to Italy, including the "minicars" that teens can drive without full drivers' licenses and "the reckless use of motorbikes and motorcycles."

It called for drivers to obey speed limits and to exercise a host of Christian virtues: charity to fellow drivers, prudence on the roads, hope of arriving safely and justice in the event of crashes.

And it suggested prayer might come in handy — performing the sign of the cross before starting off and saying the Rosary along the way. The Rosary was particularly well-suited to recitation by all in the car since its "rhythm and gentle repetition does not distract the driver's attention."

Martino's initiative was sure to make headlines in Italy, where car culture is deeply entrenched — this is the home of Ferrari and Fiat — and where weekend highway deaths make the evening news on a regular basis.

The Rev. Keith Pecklers, a Jesuit professor of liturgy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, said Martino was clearly responding to an underreported social concern: an increase in traffic deaths in places like Italy and Spain because of speeding, as well as an increase in road rage, aggressive driving and DUI in places like the United States.

"It may be surprising for people because we're accustomed to the church speaking out about sexual matters, capital punishment, immigration," he said. "The point Cardinal Martino is making is that driving is itself a moral issue. How we drive impacts on the lives of ourselves and others."

Pecklers dismissed any suggestion that Martino's "10 Commandments" were at all sacrilegious, saying it was rather "creative pedagogy" that would certainly get people's attention. He stressed that they could never be considered binding in the way the official Ten Commandments are.

The Rev. Thomas Williams, a Rome-based theologian, concurred.

"It might be a little flippant, but it's not sacrilegious," Williams said.

But for some, the document was at least reason to poke fun at the Vatican.

"Overtaking is a sin? Well, then I'm a murderer, I'll turn myself in immediately," quipped movie director Dino Risi, whose classic film "The Easy Life" — "Il Sorpasso," or "The Overtaking" — ends with a car crash.

"I think the Vatican has lost its marbles," he added, according to the ANSA news agency.

There was no indication Pope Benedict XVI had approved of, or even read, the document. It was signed by Martino and his secretary — as is customary for lower-level documents that are routinely put out by the offices of the Vatican's vast bureaucracy.

Martino, though, is known as something of a loose cannon at the Vatican, and occasionally his pronouncements have got him into trouble.

In 2003, he was rebuked by Vatican officials for having told a press conference the United States had treated Saddam Hussein "like a cow" after his capture. A senior Vatican official called in reporters several days later to stress that Martino was expressing his personal opinion and not the view of the pope.

Martino hasn't shied away from controversial topics, either. Just last week he said Roman Catholics should stop donating money to Amnesty International because it had adopted a new policy calling for women to have access to abortion services in some circumstances.

Martino, who was the Vatican's U.N. envoy for 16 years, has also expressed support for genetically modified foods, saying they could help feed the world's hungry, and he has backed scientists who question the seriousness of climate change.

[thecorrectformula]

Glad I'm Protestant and not Catholic.

[riceslayer302]

lol

[SexOnWheels]

The vatican sure knows the modern issues?

Good post with all the fodder from cali this should fuel the fire...

[needmorepwr]

Give me a break. The last time the pope drove a car, he was probably on his way to a hitler rally.

[sgt0704]

this is all how religion started to begin with..

[gwballin]

Catholics Rule.

[94z28l]

well i'm catholic but i sin all the time already any way