Vatican's 10 commandments for drivers
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070619/ap_on_re_eu/vatican_road_rage
I highly doubt praying behind the wheel is going to make the six car pile up disappear any faster.
If god takes life he's an indian giver
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Oh, that's too funny.
At first I though it was joke. LOL
Great, now people are going to ask "How can you drive without the bible."?
Won't praying actually do bad, as it will distract from driving the fucking car???!!??
You beat me to it. I was just about to post this. I think it is great, it gets the message out that the church and religion are becoming more and more ridiculous. It is similar to when you catch somebody in a lie, they keep coming up with things that are just more outrageous.
"Those who think they know don't know. Those that know they don't know, know."
Shhh...
Don't tell anyone these morals didn't exist before the advent of cars. People might start thinking morals roll with the times rather than being sourced directly from god for infinity.
Italian Drivers are notoriously dangerous! I actually can see why the Vatican did this!
Holy DMV Batman! I didn't know we needed a guy wearing a giant phallace on his head for drivers ed?
So does this mean our highschool drivers ed classes will be run by Catholic priests? Good thing the leagel age for driving isn't 5. At least the teens know what "good touch" "bad touch" is.
I can see the class now.
Priest, "Today, we are going to learn how to play with my stickshift......I ment drive a stickshift".
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
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I am disgusted with CNN droning on about this clown.
So all those drivers ed teachers and private drivers educators dont already say the same things? Some how people in Japan learned to drive without being Catholic.
One clip had a man on the street say, "The Pope is right". STFW?
So if some non famous person said the same thing it would mean less?
I suggest he work on keeping his nose out of people's crotches and stick it in his Preists crotches and accept the fact we dont need him no matter how big he thinks is britches are.
I need the Pope to practice safe driving? Thank god for the Pope because without Jesus telling him to tell us how to drive I might not figure out what the color red means.
It must be a fucking slow news day for people to act like this idiot suddenly invented something new.
HEY POPE, THANK YOU CAPTIAN OBVIOUS! Could figure out that on my own.
And to CNN I think the war in Iraq is slightly more important than that clown trying to lay claim over good driving habits.
Hey maybe if a Muslim cleric makes a list of how to drive safely we can thank Allah for our good driving.
Hey maybe we can get a Hindu to teach beef handling safty at fast food joints.
It is a damned good thing that medical schools dont require comic books to become doctors otherwise we'd still believe that the heart does the thinking and not the brain.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
{edit: Nice catch, fellow mod. Shame on me for not noticing this thread!}
By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer Tue Jun 19, 7:21 PM ET
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican on Tuesday issued a "Ten Commandments" for motorists to keep them on the road to salvation, warning drivers against the sins of road rage, abuse of alcohol or even simple rudeness.
The unusual document from the Vatican's office for migrants and itinerant people also warned that automobiles can be "an occasion of sin" — particularly when used to make a dangerous passing maneuver or when used by prostitutes and their clients.
And it suggested prayer might come in handy — performing the sign of the cross before starting off and saying the rosary along the way. The rosary was particularly well-suited to recitation by all in the car, it said, since its "rhythm and gentle repetition does not distract the driver's attention."
Cardinal Renato Martino, who heads the office, told a news conference the Vatican felt it necessary to address the pastoral needs of motorists because driving has become such a big part of contemporary life.
He cited World Health Organization statistics that said an estimated 1.2 million people are killed in road crashes each year and as many as 50 million are injured.
"That's a sad reality, and at the same time, a great challenge for society and the church," he said.
He noted that the Bible was full of people on the move, including Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus — and that his office is tasked with dealing with all "itinerant" people on the roads — from refugees to prostitutes, truck drivers and the homeless.
The document, "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road," extols the benefits of driving — family outings, getting the sick to the hospital, allowing people to get to work and seeing other cultures.
But it laments a host of ills associated with automobiles: Drivers use their cars to show off; driving "provides an easy opportunity to dominate others" by speeding; and drivers can kill themselves and others if they drink, use drugs or fall asleep at the wheel.
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."
It called for drivers to obey speed limits and to exercise a host of Christian virtues: charity to fellow drivers, prudence on the roads, hope of arriving safely and justice in the event of crashes.
Martino's initiative was sure to make headlines in Italy, where car culture is deeply entrenched — this is the home of Ferrari and Fiat — and where weekend highway deaths make the evening news on a regular basis.
The Rev. Keith Pecklers, a Jesuit professor of liturgy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, said Martino was clearly responding to an underreported social concern: an increase in traffic deaths in places like Italy and Spain because of speeding, as well as an increase in road rage, aggressive driving and DUI in places like the United States.
"It may be surprising for people because we're accustomed to the church speaking out about sexual matters, capital punishment, immigration," he said. "The point Cardinal Martino is making is that driving is itself a moral issue. How we drive impacts on the lives of ourselves and others."
Pecklers dismissed any suggestion that Martino's "Ten Commandments" were at all sacrilegious, saying it was "creative pedagogy" that would certainly get people's attention. He stressed that they could never be considered binding in the way the official Ten Commandments are.
The Rev. Thomas Williams, a Rome-based theologian, concurred.
"It might be a little flippant but it's not sacrilegious," he said.
But for some, the document was at least reason to poke fun at the Vatican.
"Overtaking is a sin? Well, then I'm a murderer, I'll turn myself in immediately," quipped movie director Dino Risi, whose classic film "The Easy Life" — "Il Sorpasso," or "The Overtaking" — ends with a car crash.
"I think the Vatican has lost its marbles," he added, according to the ANSA news agency.
There was no indication Pope Benedict XVI had approved of, or even read, the document. It was signed by Martino and his secretary — as is customary for lower-level documents that are routinely put out by the offices of the Vatican's vast bureaucracy.
Martino is known as something of a loose cannon at the Vatican, and occasionally his pronouncements have gotten him into trouble.
In 2003, he was rebuked by Vatican officials for telling a press conference the United States treated Saddam Hussein "like a cow" after his capture. A senior Vatican official called in reporters several days later to stress that Martino was expressing his personal opinion and not the view of the pope.
Martino hasn't shied away from controversial topics, either. Just last week he said Roman Catholics should stop donating money to Amnesty International because it had adopted a new policy calling for women to have access to abortion services in some circumstances.
The cardinal, who was the Vatican's U.N. envoy for 16 years, has also expressed support for genetically modified foods and he has backed scientists who question the seriousness of climate change.
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Um, huh? This is just weird. I agree - the vatican has lost it's marbles. Quick question - are people supposed to close their eyes when they pray? 'cause that might be a bad idea.
I saw this article when I was at work yesterday. I started laughing my ass off and my co-worker (a devout, magic underwear toting mormon) asked what I was laughing at, so I started reading the article to her. She starts smiling and says "wow, I think that's a really smart thing that they did. I think those really make sense, and if more people start following those commandments, then roads will be better already..." I just laughed more at that.
She also prays in the middle of the office when she starts her lunch for everyone and anyone to see and if the national anthem is playing, she stops what she's doing and prays then too...
If that says something about the smarts of the people who appeal to these new commandments, the vatican shouldn't be too impressed.
--Sarah--
Prayer: How to do nothing and feel like your doing something.
LOL, and you're also supposed to put your hands together!
Thank you, Vatican, for unleashing hordes of Catholics driving with no hands and their eyes closed upon our freeways!
I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world. - Richard Dawkins
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To be fair, other than praying, most of these "commandments" are a good idea.