March 10, 2008 Sins of the times? Vatican adds to sins list Play video

(NECN/AP) - A Vatican official has recommended expanding the list of sins to include some 21st century problems -- including drugs, pollution and the manipulation of DNA.

Sins increasingly manifest themselves as behavior that damages society as a whole, Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti said in an interview published Sunday by the Vatican's daily newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.

"While sin used to concern mostly the individual, today it has mainly a social resonance, due to the phenomenon of globalization," said Girotti, who heads the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican body that issues decisions on matters of conscience and grants absolutions.

Listing the new areas of sinful behavior, Girotti denounced "certain violations of the fundamental rights of human nature through experiments, genetic manipulations."

He also mentioned drugs - which "weaken the mind and obscure intelligence" - pollution, and the widening social and economic differences between the rich and the poor.

Girotti said the Catholic Church continued to be concerned by other sinful acts, including abortion and pedophilia.

Catholic teaching distinguishes between lesser venial sins and mortal sins.