Friday, June 22, 2007 at 12:12am
Christianity and driving
Column: God Said What?
Can the pope-mobile be cited for a traffic violation? If so, who gets the ticket: the driver or the pope?
No, this isn't a trick question. But it is a stupid question. And it's one of many stupid questions that are popping into my head after hearing about the Vatican's release of the 10 Commandments for Driving.
If you haven't been paying attention, these were part of a document released earlier this week entitled "Pastoral Care of the Road." It was released by the Vatican's Office for Migrants and Itinerant People and was composed to advise the regional conferences of bishops on this aspect of pastoral care.
Among other things, the document specifies the following commandments for driving:
1. You shall not kill.
2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
7. Support the families of accident victims.
8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
10. Feel responsible toward others.
The document also urged praying behind the wheel, saying the rosary and making the sign of the cross before starting off on a journey.
Now the Vatican has a point. Many of us, especially in or around cities, drive like we're in one of "The Fast and the Furious" movies. We drive like maniacs with a mission. We could use a reminder of the costs of sloppy driving. Not to mention drunken driving, incompetent driving or falling asleep at the wheel.
So I think that the Vatican should be commended for highlighting the human toll of reckless driving. After all, if their figures are accurate (1.2 million people killed and 50 million injured every year in automobile accidents), then we're paying much too high a price for faster transit. And that's not to mention the human cost associated with building the roads and maintaining them without being hit by a crazy driver.
Having said that, I'm a bit cynical. The ones who drive the craziest probably don't give two Hail Mary's about the Vatican's thoughts on moral driving. After all, the pope-mobile doesn't have to navigate Chicago rush-hour traffic. The Roman Curia doesn't have to sit in gridlock or be cut off by knuckleheads on motorcycles. At least not in Vatican City. I can appreciate their pastoral guidance, but I think that they're missing the mark by a hair.
They would have been better served by reminding us of our mandate to imitate Christ. Our ruthless driving is a problem, but it's not the problem. I think our poor driving habits are a symptom of a much larger problem: selfishness. That is, most of us who have cars don't have much use for anyone else on the road. Our purpose is to get where we're going, as quickly as possible, the consequences be damned.
If you don't believe me, you don't even have to watch rush-hour traffic. Just observe the traffic leaving any given church after Sunday service. Once we Christians get out of the church doors and get on the roads, we abandon Jesus. We forget that we're the church and that the building is just where we gather. We leave our Christianity at the altar.
The Vatican should have said flat out that we have a mandate to value other people. And this means that we turn our gaze away from ourselves and instead focus on the well-being of our neighbor on the road. For there is no other way to be Christian. As Jesus taught and Paul amplified, we must live self-sacrificial love for the benefit of others. This is how we show our love for God.
Indeed, driving is a large part of 21st century life. Especially in the United States and in the Western industrialized nations. So it's not a bad idea to issue moral driving guidelines with a holy stamp.
Yet one question still sticks in my mind:
Can the pope-mobile get a speeding ticket?
— — —
Kevin Considine is a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Recently he was married to a most wonderful woman who keeps him in line and reads his columns to see if they make sense. He and his wife live on the South Side of Chicago. He welcomes comments, feedback or fits of anger and can be reached at {email considkp@yahoo.com}considkp@yahoo.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Kevin Considine.
No, this isn't a trick question. But it is a stupid question. And it's one of many stupid questions that are popping into my head after hearing about the Vatican's release of the 10 Commandments for Driving.
If you haven't been paying attention, these were part of a document released earlier this week entitled "Pastoral Care of the Road." It was released by the Vatican's Office for Migrants and Itinerant People and was composed to advise the regional conferences of bishops on this aspect of pastoral care.
Among other things, the document specifies the following commandments for driving:
1. You shall not kill.
2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
7. Support the families of accident victims.
8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
10. Feel responsible toward others.
The document also urged praying behind the wheel, saying the rosary and making the sign of the cross before starting off on a journey.
Now the Vatican has a point. Many of us, especially in or around cities, drive like we're in one of "The Fast and the Furious" movies. We drive like maniacs with a mission. We could use a reminder of the costs of sloppy driving. Not to mention drunken driving, incompetent driving or falling asleep at the wheel.
So I think that the Vatican should be commended for highlighting the human toll of reckless driving. After all, if their figures are accurate (1.2 million people killed and 50 million injured every year in automobile accidents), then we're paying much too high a price for faster transit. And that's not to mention the human cost associated with building the roads and maintaining them without being hit by a crazy driver.
Having said that, I'm a bit cynical. The ones who drive the craziest probably don't give two Hail Mary's about the Vatican's thoughts on moral driving. After all, the pope-mobile doesn't have to navigate Chicago rush-hour traffic. The Roman Curia doesn't have to sit in gridlock or be cut off by knuckleheads on motorcycles. At least not in Vatican City. I can appreciate their pastoral guidance, but I think that they're missing the mark by a hair.
They would have been better served by reminding us of our mandate to imitate Christ. Our ruthless driving is a problem, but it's not the problem. I think our poor driving habits are a symptom of a much larger problem: selfishness. That is, most of us who have cars don't have much use for anyone else on the road. Our purpose is to get where we're going, as quickly as possible, the consequences be damned.
If you don't believe me, you don't even have to watch rush-hour traffic. Just observe the traffic leaving any given church after Sunday service. Once we Christians get out of the church doors and get on the roads, we abandon Jesus. We forget that we're the church and that the building is just where we gather. We leave our Christianity at the altar.
The Vatican should have said flat out that we have a mandate to value other people. And this means that we turn our gaze away from ourselves and instead focus on the well-being of our neighbor on the road. For there is no other way to be Christian. As Jesus taught and Paul amplified, we must live self-sacrificial love for the benefit of others. This is how we show our love for God.
Indeed, driving is a large part of 21st century life. Especially in the United States and in the Western industrialized nations. So it's not a bad idea to issue moral driving guidelines with a holy stamp.
Yet one question still sticks in my mind:
Can the pope-mobile get a speeding ticket?
— — —
Kevin Considine is a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Recently he was married to a most wonderful woman who keeps him in line and reads his columns to see if they make sense. He and his wife live on the South Side of Chicago. He welcomes comments, feedback or fits of anger and can be reached at {email considkp@yahoo.com}considkp@yahoo.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Kevin Considine.