Archbishop Lists Science Among Modern Sins

Genetic experimentation has been named one of the "new forms of social sin" by Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, a high-ranking Vatican official. Girotto, who also included environmental pollution on his list, didn't just focus on science; he also included drug abuse and the hoarding of wealth as "new sins" in his interview with the Vatican City newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. The interview has been widely reported as establishing a list of seven modern deadly sins, but members of the Catholic Church have called this media sensationalism, saying instead that the list outlines a series of new responsibilities. —Dan Messier