Sinful Driving
June 23, 2007
Sinning while driving?
"Are they serious?" asked Matthias Koffler, the spiritual leader of Germany's Catholic Youth Community when told about the Vatican's car courtesy mission.
"My first reaction is: Don't they have more important things to deal with?"
Barbara Breher, the deputy head of Germany's Kolping Society, a Catholic social organization, had a similar reaction.
"At first, I burst out laughing" when hearing about the new commandments on the radio, she said.
Avoiding sinful behavior
But the "Ten Commandments" for drivers are meant to be taken very seriously. They were published by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, which is headed by Cardinal Renato Martino and includes the archbishop of Berlin, Cardinal Georg Sterzinsky, among its members.
The council is also in charge of pastoral care for prostitutes, street children and homeless people, among other groups.
The "Traffic Commandments" are meant to encourage ethical car driving, calling on people to use caution as cars "can lead to sinful behavior." The new document calls on Christians to act as role models. "Thou shall not kill," is the first commandment, followed by rules on courteous behavior on the road.
"Cars should not be an expression of power and domination," according to the council.
Catholic drivers are also expected to perform acts of charity towards victims of car accidents and their relatives.
"Even dangerous overtaking can be sinful," Martino said when he presented the document in Rome, adding that "swearing, impolite gestures or rude behavior" were equally bad. Martino called on travelers to cross themselves before embarking on a journey to protect themselves.
Too many rules?
Few believers are likely to pay much attention to the new rules, however.
"These commandments don't get much attention in peoples' daily lives," said Johannes Reiter, a professor for moral theology at Mainz University.
Reiter added that these rules were largely taken for granted among civilized people, adding that he didn't see a clear connection to the theology of Pope Benedict XVI.
"They simply fitted important things into a certain form," Reiter said, adding that he didn't expect the Catholic Church to publish "commandments" for all kind of situations in the future.
Some, like Barbara Breher from the Kolping Society, fear that that's going to happen.
"I find this derivation for car drivers banal," she said. "Everything included in these commandments can be found in the biblical Ten Commandments. Should there be commandments for everything now? I think this rules overkill is not appropriate."
The Ten Commandments for Drivers:
1. Thou 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 neighbor in need, especially in accidents.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination.
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.