Via the LATimes:

A Vatican keen to show its green side has added pollution to the realm of “new sins” that today’s Catholics must confront and avoid.

[...]

Girotti’s discussion of “new sins” (though many were not exactly new) was also an attempt to appeal to the modern Catholic and show the relevance of church teachings and guidance in the globalized world.

“The Vatican’s intent seemed to be less about adding to the traditional ‘deadly’ sins [lust, anger, sloth, pride, avarice, gluttony, envy] than reminding the world that sin has a social dimension and that participation in institutions that themselves sin is an important point upon which believers needed to reflect,” Father James Martin, acting publisher of the Jesuit magazine America, said in a blog he operates.

“In other words, if you work for a company that pollutes the environment, you have something more important to consider for Lent than whether or not to give up chocolate.”

So, let’s just say, for instance, that since I work in the energy industry, which many people like to blame for destroying the environment (conveniently forgetting, of course, that their personal demand for energy is what drives the industry), does this now mean I can give up work for Lent? As you know, I am a baptized Catholic, and suffered through eight years of Catholic school (which sadly, probably molded me into the person I am today more than any other life experience) before becoming a “lapsed Catholic”, but I would certainly be willing to turn into a “Cafeteria Catholic” for the remaining portion of Lent.

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