Vatican issues "Ten Commandments" for the road

by James Snodgrass for CNN

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- The Vatican, the ruling body of the Catholic Church, has issued new guidelines for road users, including a drivers' "Ten Commandments". The guidelines form part of Pope Benedict XVI's mission to make Catholic teaching more appropriate to modern life and to put new technology within a Christian context.

The guidelines form part of a report entitled 'The Pastoral Care of Road Users', and contextualize road use within a moral, political and environmental context.

Road rage and pollution are regarded as modern evils, but the Church is not completely anti-car. The report states that vehicle use "benefits social life and economic development, and gives many people an opportunity to earn an honest living". Indeed it considers motor cars as a way of getting closer to God as "they facilitate discovery of the beauties of creation, the sign of his boundless of love for us."

The report condemns illegal road racing and stupid and arrogant behavior by drivers or pedestrians.

While the Bible itself contains no specific references to motorized transport, the Vatican has applied teachings from both the Old and New Testament that refer to migrations and wanderings including Exodus (12:41) and Luke (9:51 to 19:41).

Without singling-out particular marques or vehicle types, commandment four of the Drivers' Ten Commandments condemns vehicles used as "an expression of power and domination", which will be bad news for Catholic owners of Porsche Cayennes and Volvo XC90s.

"Cars particularly lend themselves to being used by their owners to show off," continues the report, "and as a means for outshining other people and arousing a feeling of envy. People thus identify themselves with their cars and project assertion of their egos onto them.

"When we praise our cars we are, in fact, praising ourselves, because they belong to us and, above all, we drive them. Many motorists, including the not so young, boast with great pleasure of records broken and high speeds achieved, and it is easy to see that they cannot stand being considered as bad drivers, even though they may acknowledge that they are."

Driving, the report suggests, is never a solitary activity -- regardless of whether or not there is anybody in the passenger seat. Being on the road is seen as an act of coexistence and integration within a community of people. And that the qualities a good driver should possess are self-mastery, prudence, courtesy and acknowledge of the rules of the road.

The report also outlines unethical driving behavior. Unsurprisingly careless driving is condemned but the report also reminds drivers of their moral duty to keep cars in safe mechanical order, and not to neglect technical check-ups and servicing.

This is not the first time that the Vatican has issued guidelines for road users. In 1956 Pope Pius XII exhorted motorists: "Do not forget to respect other road users, be courteous and fair with other drivers and pedestrians and show them your obliging nature. Pride yourselves in being able to master an often natural impatience, in sometimes sacrificing a little of your sense of honor so that the courteousness that is a sign of true charity may prevail. Not only will you thus be able to avoid unpleasant accidents, but you will also help to make the car a more useful tool for yourselves and others that is capable of giving you a more genuine pleasure."

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