LAST GOOD FRIDAY, complaining about having nothing to do, my daughter told me, “You meditate.” Meditate? That’s a good idea. And being a sinner why not meditate on sin? I did some reading and found it interesting.

Lately, Pope Benedict XVI warned, “We are losing the notion of sin,” as he bewailed the decreasing number of people going to confession.

Methinks, there are fewer sinners now. Yes, a sin has been defined, redefined and redefined that the number of sinners has been getting less and less. There are many politicians stealing millions and millions but they parade around and always talk of Christ. Maybe, as a cover-up.

Pope Gregory the Great listed seven deadly sins. They are pride, gluttony, melancholy, lust, greed, envy, and anger. In the 17th century melancholy was changed to sloth or laziness. If you are lazy you can not go to heaven. So, take note, you lazybones.

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But perception of sin changed. Parents emphasize pride, which they call self-respect, to their children to develop self-esteem. Chefs all over the world were reported to have petitioned Vatican that being a gourmand is no sin. A gourmand is one who enjoys eating good food.

Possibly both President Arroyo and Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap will go to Heaven for campaigning against gluttony asking people to eat only half of the rice they are supposed to eat.

So sin takes so many social dimensions. I will be discussing later social sins, different from personal sins as listed by Pope Gregory.

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There are also other Capital sins that can be subject of a debate. Envy is the engine of the movie culture. Lust is an advertising strategy. And anger is the instrument of the aggrieved. And for self-defense. Do they commit a sin?

Sex kitten Marilyn Monroe (1926-60) said, when she slept the only thing she had on was the radio. But another sex symbol, the brilliant and most quoted voluptuous Mae West (1892-1980) who, during the last World War, was the most sought pin-up girl by the military said, “To err is human but it feels divine.”

Or in another quote, she said, if she were to choose between two evils, “I always like to try one I never tried before.” The U.S. Navy named an inflatable life jacket after her. Navy men would not mind drowning knowing he was hugging Mae West.

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Is it a sin for both Marilyn Monroe and Mae West saying all these? I don’t know whether Mae West and Marilyn Monroe are in Heaven or in hell. It’s like opening a debate whether Mary Magdalene complied with Christ’s ordered, “Go and sin no more.”

There’s nothing to worry about wherever Mae West and Marilyn Monroe are now. One thing we know is that they can  have their way entertaining, if not seducing, St. Peter or Satan. I am sure Satan will comply.

Vatican might also soon define what hell is. Our idea of hell is from Dante Aleghiere’s book “Inferno,” of his “The Divine Comedy” where she narrated his trip to Purgatory, Hell, and Paradise and wrote on the people he met there. Those punished for envy, Dante said, had their eyes sewn with iron wires. I don’t know what is done to rapists.

Dante was very influential. Popes consulted him on Church issues.

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Former President Ramos is wrong in singing “It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie.”

Do you still wonder if, in the Senate investigation, the Senators have not yet gotten down to the truth? Many of the witnesses lied. Maybe they knew it is not a sin to lie.

So, aware of all these, Vatican has addressed the problem by coming out with not just personal sins where there were seven of them and added seven other social sins. Nowhere does it say it’s a sin to tell a lie.

The seven social sins are, causing social injustice, causing poverty, genetic modification, human experiment such as cloning, polluting the environment, becoming obscenely wealthy, and taking drugs.

Read them again and look at your life. Are you a sinner? Or a saint? Then read Dante’s “Inferno” and find out what punishment would you most likely get.

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Based on these definitions, corrupt officials, no matter how big a contribution they give to the Church, or how many prayers and kneeling they make, will go to hell.

And our Church will be an effective instrument to straighten our society if they keep on hammering at the corrupt. The Church and Church leaders are pretty consistent in their campaign. And this goes for all denominations.

The Churchgoers should be asked to pray for our corrupt officials to avoid sin. This should be done at every Mass until corruption is eradicated.

This is one way of bringing these people back to God. Can there be a better project for the Church than this?

Avoid sin and go to Heaven by not burning your trash and instead throwing them in the garbage can.

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