(Photo: Corydora on Flickr)
Citing the world’s 1.2 million annual traffic deaths, the Vatican has issued a document titled, “Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road,” that addresses the “consequence of trangressions and negligence” behind the wheel and offers solutions via a ‘Drivers 10 Commandments’.
Here is an excerpt from the AP story:
“The Vatican on Tuesday issued a set of “Ten Commandments” for drivers, telling motorists not to kill, not to drink and drive, and to help fellow travelers in case of accidents…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.”
And Cardinal Renato Martino says,
“We know that as a consequence of transgressions and negligence, 1.2 million people die each year on the roads,” Martino said. “That’s a sad reality, and at the same time, a great challenge for society and the church.”
And in true Vatican style, they’ve come up with the Drivers Ten Commandments:
- You shall not kill.
- The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
- Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
- Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.
- Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
- Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
- Support the families of accident victims.
- Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
- On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
- Feel responsible toward others.
The BTA has jumped on Commandment number nine as proof that God supports the Vulnerable Roadway Users Bill (HB 3314).
For the full story, read the AP report.
Hey look – there are new posts. There\’s nothing coming through my RSS reader. I think your RSS feed is jacked up.
Jeff,
thanks. my RSS feed has been broken since 6/6 and I can\’t figure out why. I have some folks working on it but so far no luck. hopefully it will be fixed soon. sorry for an inconvenience.
I am proud to be Catholic. Regardless of your religious views or lack thereof, these are rules we should all live by.
amen.
Maybe we can send an \”I Share the Road\” sticker for the Pope-mobile!
….*blink blink* I\’m not sure wether to chear or laugh histerically. Well, in any case it\’s good to see something like this come from the vatican.
I am definately impressed.
Did the Vatican underline it with the line \”[What] would Jesus drive?\”
Go Benedict!
And Aaron, catholics don\’t wear \”What Would Jesus Do\” t-shirts. Catholics don\’t generally talk about Jesus in public ever.
who\’s up for a Vatican themed ride?
These are a great start, but they left off the new golden rule:
Endeavor to eradicate the use of automobiles and seek the most sanctified form of transportation: the bicycle.
Maybe in the next release?
Yshua definitly rode a bike:
\’narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. But wide is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.\’
bike lanes and freeways.
Fascinating and fantastic! I\’m really intrigued to see the Vatican putting this document out. This here is another and a different way that Catholic leadership is expressing its value of human life. Who\’da thunk they\’d do it this way?