It was produced well before the growth of democratic governments and their issues around political responsibility. And it was produced well before nuclear arms and multinational corporations and global warming. So, in 1891, when Pope Leo XIII first addressed the condition of labor and he called for the rights for workers to organize, for the right to collective bargaining, for a living wage, for decent working conditions, the impact on our catechisms and on us and on our sins was invisible. And it was the same in 1931, when Pope Pius XI dealt with the responsibility of national governments and, therefor, the responsibility of citizens and their politics. We now know far more clearly that the Ten Commandments and the Gospel of Christ mean recognizing and, at times, admitting that our sins include activity in the public and social arena, with the challenge of racism and militarism and defense of life issues and sexism and responsibility for the environment and concern for social justice and responsible voting and participating in our society and in our world.
Sin is much more public than it used to be.
It sounds as if there's a new look in sin. But it is also as ancient as the cry for justice of the Hebrew prophets in the Old Testament.