BY SR. PATRICIA McCARTHY, CND
Seldom does the media get religion right. The recent furor over the new deadly sins is a perfect example.
Bishop Gianfranco Girotti was interviewed by a Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, two weeks ago after he completed presenting a week long seminar to priests on the sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation. The four page interview was dense and not an easy read, tackling difficult issues of conscience faced by priests hearing confessions. One paragraph of only five sentences hit the airwaves like a political blunder from a presidential candidate. The headlines and the airwaves all reported the same thing – “There are seven new deadly sins!” To say the media missed the point is too mild. They not only missed it but they misconstrued it and totally skewered a potentially rich discussion on today’s sense of right and wrong, of good and evil.
Taken in context the interview was about sin today, not a popular topic. How often have we heard people refuse to acknowledge obvious wrong-doing: stolen money on the corporate level is a result of a poor accountant. Adulterous affairs become momentary slips with no relation to a marriage commitment. Lying is mis-speaking. Neglect of children due to overwork becomes the virtue of ambition, accumulation of vast wealth at all costs is the American way. And endangering the environment for life-style choices is a right. Sin is definitely not popular; admission of wrong-doing is so rare as to be a shock when it happens.
There seems to be an excuse for every moral issue. A baby at this time is inconvenient; the woman carrying the child is under great stress, so abortion becomes an option. Maintaining a life style is an absolute necessity so cheating or using illegal financial practices is not considered unusual or deviant, and only problematic when caught. Drug use, in sports or in recreation, doesn’t hurt anyone else, so why the big deal about it? Destruction of the environment is not as important as individual needs for entertainment or travel. Sin is definitely not popular.
Enter into this modern mix the sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation. Few Catholics use it because of the loss of a sense of sin. For many who do avail themselves of the sacrament their list of sins hasn’t changed much over the years. As children, the nuances of sin cannot be taught or appreciated. For the education of small children, which is when most Catholics received their last instruction on the sacrament of Reconciliation, the barest essentials are taught. Ironically and pathetically, with the addition of the sexual sins of adults, few adult Catholics progress much beyond their childhood confessions.
To grow in an adult understanding of our responsibility to God and to one another, time, effort, prayer and tremendous honesty are critical. We need the courage to stumble through the admission of the true sins in our lives, which is far different from reciting a list that has not changed in forty years. Confessing sin is a messy business because we are conflicted. We carry around the burden of sin and cause others great pain because we dare not face the real errors in our lives. We may confess impatience with our spouses or children, but do we ever face the reason behind the reality? Are we overworking beyond human ability? Are we drinking too much? Are we miserable at work and taking it out at home? Are we having an affair? Are we running from a past sin that still holds us in its grasp? The sin is not the impatience; it is far more complex and serious. To keep confessing impatience is to stay in the mess endlessly.
Sin is not an easy topic. Guilt and repentance and sorrow are even more complicated. Bishop Girotti was trying to tackle a difficult and necessary subject. The interviewer asked him if there were new sins particular to our contemporary society. This is the response that was front and center on the news, implying that the original sins were replaced. His response deserves serious reflection by all Catholics and hopefully can find its way into a few homilies for the instruction of all. Drug use, genetic manipulation, pedophilia, and abortion would not be surprises to anyone. But he went further and held up excessive wealth, abuse of the poor by neglect and by social structures that keep them poor, and abuse of the environment. The challenge behind these issues is disturbing and counter to a culture that proclaims individualism as a divine right.
Bishop Girotti tried bringing sin from the individual arena into the social one. Our sin is not exclusively private/personal; it has its effects on our brothers and sisters. Pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth are still deadly sins. No one has replaced them. Behind the names are the nuances and Bishop Girotti opened a dialogue on the modern forms the old sins have taken in our day. To look at our new sins is to begin to recognize the spiritual work ahead of us. Confession of sins brings us into the moment of grace, of forgiveness. We need this to transform our society as we allow God to transform us into decent moral people trying to live decent moral lives.
