The Ten Commandments of Driving

I grew up Catholic, and it has never ceased to amaze me how this particular religion just loves to make up new rules whenever it wants to. As you have probably heard by now, the Vatican has issued its own "Ten Commandments" of driving. Driving! Are they seriously going to try to convince us that God admitted holes in the original Ten and came to the Pope in a vision with this instruction because he feared we didn't realize his law applies to automobiles too?! Well, in any case, they didn't seem too bad to me:

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.

That was until I read further into the matter, however. The following is an excerpt from a Reuters article:

A 36-page document called "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road" contains 10 Commandments covering everything from road rage, respecting pedestrians, keeping a car in good shape and avoiding rude gestures while behind the wheel.

"Cars tend to bring out the 'primitive' side of human beings, thereby producing rather unpleasant results," the document said.

It appealed to what it called the "noble tendencies" of the human spirit, urging responsibility and self-control to prevent the "psychological regression" often associated with driving.

The document's Fifth Commandment reads: "Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin."

Asked at a news conference when a car became an occasion of sin, Cardinal Renato Martino said "when a car is used as a place for sin."

One part of the document, under the section "Vanity and personal glorification," will not go down well with owners of Ferraris in motor-mad Italy.

"Cars particularly lend themselves to being used by their owners to show off, and as a means for outshining other people and arousing a feeling of envy," it said.

Listen people, I'm going to be deprived of the showing off privilege for long enough - I own a Ford FOCUS for crying out loud. So if I one day become the proud owner of my dream Bimmer or a souped up Mini-Coop, you're damn right I want to "arouse a feeling of envy"!