Vatican issues 10 Commandments for motorists
Church encourages motorists to exercise courtesy and prudence on the roadsRepent, all ye sinners...the Vatican has just released a comprehensive new document that spells out "Ten Commandments" for drivers.
Released at a press conference on Tuesday (June 19), the 35-page document lays out guidelines for proper road use and the rules of car ownership.
The key element of the "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road" is a collection of "Ten Commandments" designed to instill better habits in road users.
Perhaps instigated by the growing incidences of road rage, the Ten Commandments for drivers encourages them to be charitable to others on the highways, to refrain from drinking and driving, and to pray when behind the wheel.
Not many will argue with the document's assertion that driving can bring out "primitive" behavior in motorists, which is often expressed in the form of "impoliteness, rude gestures, cursing, blasphemy, loss of sense of responsibility or deliberate infringement of the highway code."
As a means to curtail such tendencies, the Vatican's guidelines urge motorists to obey traffic regulations, drive with a moral sense, and to pray when behind the wheel.
Speaking at the release of the document, Cardinal Renato Martino said the Vatican felt it necessary to address the pastoral needs of motorists because driving had become such a fundamental part of modern life.
"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."
The Ten Commandments for road use:
- 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 fit 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 towards others.
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