10 commandments for the Road

I read this article today online, It seems like the Pope is cracking down on road ragers!! :)

From The Times
June 20, 2007
The Pope’s ten motoring commandments

Richard Owen in Rome
Drivers wanting to steer clear of the road to perdition should abide by ten new commandments handed down by the Vatican.

Speeding and dangerous overtaking are forbidden, as are rude hand signals. And as for kerb crawling, forget it.

Pope Benedict XVI’s choice of wheels is the sluggish Pope-mobile, and in the Vatican City there are hardly any cars and the speed limit is barely 30mph.

But the pontiff is so concerned about road rage that he has asked his staff to draw up a list of rules for the highway, including thou shalt not use a car “for sinful purposes”.

Related Internet Links
The Holy See (Vatican web site)
A 58-page Vatican document, entitled Guidelines for Pastoral Care of the Road, urges drivers to avoid road rage, to respect the rights of pedestrians, and to make the sign of the cross before setting off.

Road users must not make “rude gestures” at other drivers, or use cars to show off and “arouse envy” – a tough call in Italy, where aspiring to own a Ferrari to demonstrate power and affluence (and impress women) is considered a male birthright.

Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Vatican Office for Migrants and Itinerant People, said that the Vatican felt it necessary to address “the pastoral needs of motorists” because cars formed such a central part of modern life. “Cars tend to bring out the primitive side of human beings, thereby producing rather unpleasant results,” the document said. It appealed instead to the “nobler tendencies” in the human spirit.

The fifth commandment – “Cars shall not be an expression of power and domination or an occasion for sin” – referred, Cardinal Martino said, in part to motorists who used their cars to pick up prostitutes, which was “an offence to human dignity”.

Some drivers behaved in an “unsatisfactory and even barely human manner”, the Vatican document said. They should avoid “unbalanced behaviour” such as “impoliteness, rude gestures, cursing, or blasphemy” and would do better to use the time spent in a car for prayer, which would “immerse them in the presence of God so that they remain under His protection”.

While earthly concerns have tended to focus on careless use of mobile phones, the Vatican suggests that passengers can safely recite the rosary because “the rhythm and gentle repetition does not distract the driver’s attention”.

The document urges dioceses to help to set up chapels along motorways, with priests holding Mass or offering spiritual comfort at service stations.

The highway to heaven

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 to deal with unforeseen events

4 Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of accidents

5 Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination or an occasion for sin

6 Charitably convince the young and not-so-young not to drive when they are not in a fit condition

7 Support the families of accident victims

8 Bring guilty motorists and their victims together so they can experience forgiveness

9 On the road, protect the more vulnerable party

10 Feel responsible towards others