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File this one under the category of “true things that nonetheless cannot be taken seriously when explained in this way.” A (non-Catholic) friend forwarded me this list of “Ten Commandments for Drivers” put out by Cardinal Martino and the Vatican’s office for migrants and itinerant people. The list is part of a 36-page document entitled “Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road,” and it gives pastoral suggestions for how we might all better exercise Christian virtue in our driving.
I hate to seem cynical, and I don’t doubt that moral virtues can be relevant to many aspects of driving. (Indeed, road rage is one failing for which I sometimes chastise the good Doctor, who is of a somewhat more choleric temperament than I.) But in this case the presentation defies serious treatment. The second Driver’s Commandment, stating that “The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm” cannot help but bring a smirk. Communion between people? Must driving to work be a social or religious experience? I’m not even sure who the people in question are – other drivers, or people you might be going to visit in your automobile? It’s sheer silliness.
Further chuckles will surely be heard when we reach the fifth Drivers’ Commandment, which states, “Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.” Cars as an occasion of sin, ha ha. Every major news agency jumped on that particular phrase, in fact, Martino himself is said to have noted that cars might particularly be an occasion of sin when used in dangerous passing or in prostitution. Good grief. At least he didn’t mention high school proms.
But this highlights another ridiculous thing about the document. From a pedagogical standpoint, it is confusing. The real Ten Commandments are a masterful tool for moral instruction, because, as Catholic moral theologians have explained for millennia, each refers to a family of related sins to which men are tempted. It thus makes sense to evaluate one’s moral progress by thinking through the different commandments; the individual sins grouped under each will all relate to the same Christian virtue or vice. Precisely the opposite is true of the Driver’s Commandments. Prostitution and dangerous passing, for example, are very different types of sin, and call for very different sorts of corrective action or pastoral advice. The fact that each involves a car in some way is incidental, and grouping them together under the same “rule” just seems ad hoc and sloppy.
I could go on, but it seems silly to waste too many words on such a manifestly ridiculous document. I can only think that Cardinal Martino was dreaming of writing something that might someday be immortalized on those little cards that are often found for the taking in the vestibule of Novus parishes. If so, he may get his wish, but to my mind it is distasteful to implicitly compare the Commandments given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, with a gimmick like this. What next? The Ten Commandments of good table manners? The Ten Commandments of adequate home repair? Perhaps the office for migrant and itinerant people should turn its attention instead to caring for the many poor and homeless Catholic immigrants and refugees of which Joe Six Pack has often told us.
St. Louis-Marie de Montfort,
Pope St. Pius X,
St. Joseph,
St. Ambrose of Milan,
St. Thomas Aquinas,
St. Francis (and St. Clare),
St. Catherine of Siena,
St. Alphonsus Ligouri,
St. John Chrysostom,
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Well, it has served its purpose - I’ve been laughing so hard, I’m about to leave lunch in a far more amused and charitable mood than when I started. That should make co-workers’ foibles a breeze to deal with this afternoon.
Hmm, perhaps that could be worked into an 11th Commandment:
“This document shall serve as vehicle for conducting oneself with greater Christian charity at work.”
Possibly.
Pxx
This is the same office that has letters on the pastoral care of gypsies. Perhaps they are looking for stuff to do and thus you get the driving commandments.
Also at some event organized by this office
John Paul II, of happy memory, gave an exhortaion to carnival and circus workers. Was there any group he didn’t talk too?! I don’t mean to make light of the important work that carnies perform, but did the Soverign Pontiff really need to be involved?
Our Lord loves even carnies, Erasmus. John Paul just had a stronger awareness of this fact than other men, being something of a performer himself. ; )
The US Catholic Church has outsourced its social justice responsibilities to the US government. Internationally, the Catholic Church abroad has outsourced its social justice responsibilities to the United Nations.
Sure you can find some official Catholic organs in some places of the world taking personal responsibility for our sick and poor brethren, but by and large if you were to show up to a Catholic parish door or nunciature for aid, you’ll be told to go to the nearest government or UN aid office.
One could possibly argue that some coordination between the Church and the immoral anti-Catholic states and international organizations or NGOs makes good prudential sense. However, the Vatican and most of the rest of the Church’s peace and justice offices go well beyond simple coordination of efforts. The Church willingly makes itself pleasing to the state by denying the Faith and refraining from anything which could be considered proselytizing. (Look at how the Church has sold out the persecuted underground Church in China!)
Several weeks ago I wanted to have a short meeting with a priest-diplomat at a nunciature in a Muslim country. It took a day or two to arrange the meeting and the priest did something of a background check on me by calling the priests in the local area to see if they knew me and could vouch for me. When he told me this, I asked him if he thought I was a terrorist or some other danger to him. He said that no it wasn’t that – basically he was concerned that I was a person in need or someone who would ask him for some type of assistance. So the security outside of the nunciatures in the Muslim world are not to prevent attacks but to keep the poor, needy, and especially those interested in converting to the Catholic Faith out! It’s more important for the Catholic Church to maintain a proper diplomatic presence than to fight for the faith, vigorously protect poor Catholics from abuse and discrimination, and preach the Gospel.
Some protestant sects operate much more vigorously and with less regard for the rules of diplomacy or immoral laws against Christianity. Sure they have a tenuous relationship with the state. They are constantly being persecuted by the government. They are always close to being thrown out of the country. On the other hand they are changing lives, bringing real aid to those in need, and baptizing souls in large numbers.
Fr. John Hardon, SJ used to frequently remind everyone that civil laws are not morally binding. The Church certainly does not act like this anymore. We are so eager to render unto Caeser there seems to be no limit to what we will compromise on.