...Do anything any longer. Yes, I'm straying from my usual "no politics, no religion" mandate that I have on this blog.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, some people far away said that there were some things that we should never ever do. A list, per se, of things "thou shalt not" do. Murder, thievery, false worship - that sort of stuff.

Last year the Vatican, that which oversees the tenets of the Catholic religion, decided that they needed to focus on the time we spend behind the wheel and declared that pollution, 'road rage', rude remarks to other drivers and alcohol abuse is a bad thing.

Gee, y'think?

This year they've made some more adjustments to general ideas on the list. Some of them make sense, although morally they are things that most of us already follow. Drugs are new to the 'thou shalt not' list and most of us tend to avoid mind-altering substances. Genetic manipulation is now on the list too due to being "violations of the basic rights of human nature".

Drugs are just plain stupid. We've been hearing those statements for years, but we're finally hearing something from the Vatican about it. I guess while it wasn't recommended before, now it's a sin to use mind-altering drugs. The Church is even looking at doing things that are more environmentally sound and are planning to convert some of the buildings to be solar powered, which I think is excellent.

I'm sure it comes as no surprise that they continue to rail against abortion and are viewed as unsympathetic to the "difficult predicament" for women. The usual response is in play there - that Catholic organizations are willing to help women who lacked the foresight to plan properly. Of course they didn't weigh in on whether or not they were happy that Catholic organizations did this, but I guess those organizations wouldn't be sanctioned by the Church anymore if it wasn't ok. But let's move on.

The one that makes me stop and blink for a minute is the one that deals with social injustice. As in the imbalance between the rich and the poor. Excuse me?

Yes, the Vatican is taking on the "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer". It is now considered to be a sin to capitalize upon your fortune and increase it while others continue to suffer. I think that's a noble pursuit as the middle class continues to become 'the new poor' but I really don't want to feel guilty when I make some money at something and choose to put it into trust for my children instead of into the collection plate at Mass.

While this is a new statement it's not a new sentiment. Greed, avarice and 'playing God' has always been a no-no for the Church. Money is the root of all evil, and one should always give of themselves and share what they have. It's noble, but not realistic in today's society. When we get money we tend to hang onto it as much as possible either through re-investment to make more money, or buy acquiring material possessions that make us happy. The Church is frowning on that some more, as if a reminder was needed...

...I just wonder who the modern day Robin Hood is going to be?