HAVE YOU ever driven inattentively or after drinking or when you were tired? If we want to be honest with ourselves we most probably have to say that we all did at some time or other. Have you ever gone to confession and mentioned such incidents? Most probably it did not cross your mind to do so.

According to Fr Gian Paolo Salvini, editor of La Civiltà Cattolica, bad driving is a sin that should be confessed. Poor driving "places at great risk one's own life and the lives of others, certainly much more than seeing a provocative film, something people confess to much more easily because they feel more at fault."

Fr Salvini noted that in late November, Pope Benedict XVI publicly asked people to drive more carefully in order to save lives. While much of his article looked at statistics about driving habits and accidents in Italy, the Jesuit also considered the moral, psychological and social issues involved in more and more people driving cars, mopeds and motorcycles.

Like any human action, he said, driving involves "a series of obligations deriving from justice, prudence and charity", obligations that are morally binding. Unfortunately, Fr Salvini said, most people - including Church people - do not seem to give much thought to the moral implications of getting behind the wheel.

What Fr Salvini said is true. Very few penitents confess to having driven imprudently or in an inebriated state. Most would not even think about going to confess that they were driving while aware that they were tired or with a faulty car (brakes, tyres, etc). This attitude shows that there is a serious lack of attention towards the obligation to respect one's life and the lives of others. "It would not be a bad idea when examining one's conscience to look at this point as well."

In Malta we are not renowned for our good driving manners and habits. Perhaps it is about time the Church, which has addressed this subject in the past, would do so with greater urgency.