Influential Jesuit says bad driving is sin, should be confessed

Published: 2005-12-15

ROME (CNS) -- Driving inattentively, after drinking or when one is tired is a sin that should be confessed, said the Jesuit director of an influential magazine. Poor driving "places at great risk one's own life and the lives of others, certainly much more than seeing a provocative film, something people confess much more easily because they feel more at fault," wrote Father GianPaolo Salvini in mid-December. The priest is director of La Civilta Cattolica, a magazine reviewed by the Vatican Secretariat of State prior to publication. Father Salvini noted that in late November, Pope Benedict XVI publicly asked people to drive more carefully in order to save lives. While much of his article looked at statistics about driving habits and accidents in Italy, the Jesuit also looked at the moral, psychological and social issues involved in more and more people driving cars, mopeds and motorcycles.

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