The Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, Pope Benedict's right-hand man, has decreed that polluting the environment is a sin. This is kind of amazing. Think about it, if the 1 billion Catholics of the world decided to reduce their ecological footprints, the world would be a significantly cleaner place. Of course, in all likelihood, a decree against ecological sins might only beget an order for ecological penitence. And while God will be able to forgive us sinners for ruining the planet, our children might not. Perhaps this is where faith comes into play. Link.