IF YOU'VE EVER tried to cross the Via Della Conciliazone during rush hour it may come as little surprise to you to discover that the Vatican has concluded that cars tend to bring out the "primitive side of human beings".
In response to the thorny issue of road rage, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People has laid down an invaluable "Ten Commandments" for drivers as part of their Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road.
The document argues that good drivers "courteously give way to pedestrians, are not offended when overtaken" and - ominously - do not "seek revenge." Bad drivers tend towards "impoliteness, rude gestures, cursing, blasphemy, loss of sense of responsibility" and "deliberate infringement of the highway code."
While the guidelines were no doubt forged by dreadful experiences in the screaming multi-laned mayhem of Rome's one way system, it may be time to look at your own driving, so here's the ten:
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 they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9: On the road, protect the more-vulnerable party.
10: Feel responsible toward others.
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 they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9: On the road, protect the more-vulnerable party.
10: Feel responsible toward others.
The Council was headed by controversial cardinal, Renato Martino. Cardinal Martino said that the Vatican believed it was necessary to address the pastoral needs of motorists because driving had become such a big part of contemporary life. He went to add that while prudence forbade the use of mobile phones behind the wheel, prayer on the road was still allowed; in particular the rosary which "due to its rhythm and gentle repetition, does not distract the driver's attention."
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