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Anne,
Genetic engineering is not one of the seven
deadly sins, nor was it included as such by
the Vatican.
An Archbishop, who works in the Vatican,
wrote an article for the Vatican newspaper in which
he stated that there are serious modern sins with
a social dimension, and he named genetic engineering among
them. He called them new deadly sins, however, he was speaking in a non-technical manner,
with a literary license, because the seven deadly sins
are not individual sins such as the ones he named.
They are actually the roots of all sin, including
those he lists. Their real name is capital
sins because they are the caput or head from
which every sin comes. All sins come from either:
- pride
- covetousness
- lust
- anger
- gluttony
- envy, or
- sloth.
Genetic engineering, understood as the manipulation
of the genotype for the creation of more desirable
beings, is evil when it is applied to human beings
because:
- it necessarily involves in vitro fertilization,
which is, itself, evil, and
- it makes the human being into a consumer product
of someone else's desires, not an end in himself,
as all persons are.
Genetic engineering understood as the therapeutic
alteration of genes in an existing human being
is moral, provided there is a proportion of benefit
to any risk.
When sinful, genetic engineering stems from one
of the capital sins (or seven deadly sins), pride.
Mary Ann
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