DOCUMENT OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE PASTORAL CARE OF MIGRANTS AND ITINERANT PEOPLE: "GUIDELINES FOR THE PASTORAL CARE OF THE ROAD" , 19.06.2007These Guidelines for the pastoral care of the road, which is looked after by a specific Department of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, are the outcome of a great endeavour entailing listening, reflection and insight.
The Document breaks down into four quite separate parts, taking account of the specific nature and scope of issues connected with the road as a place for pastoral care. The first part is devoted to road users (motorists, lorry drivers, etc.) and railway users, and to the people who work in the various related services. Parts two and three concern street women and street children, respectively, and the fourth regards the homeless (tramps).
Ethical aspects"35. There are also cases of driving when physically or mentally incapacitated, under the influence of alcohol and other stimulants or drugs, or in a state of exhaustion or somnolence. Danger also derives from citycars, which are driven by youngsters and adults who do not have driving licences, and the reckless use of motorbikes and motorcycles. "
46. Obviously, careless motorists, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians do not wish for the fatal consequences of an accident they cause, nor do they intend to harm the life and property of others. However, as these consequences are the product of a conscious action, we may rightly speak of moral responsibility.
“For a bad effect to be imputable it must be foreseeable and the agent must have the possibility of avoiding it, as in the case of manslaughter caused by a drunken driver”. When driving without the requisite conditions (for example, carelessly, or lacking the necessary capacities), one endangers life and goods, which presupposes infringement of moral law, due to the voluntary nature of the act.
48. Moral law prohibits exposing anyone to grave danger, without serious grounds, as well as refusing assistance to a person in danger. In addition, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and other’s safety on the road, at sea, or in the air”.
The virtue of Justice
54. Undoubtedly, any human relationship should be governed by justice, even more so if life is at stake. Ever since it became interested in the traffic issue, the Church has referred to this virtue. In this regard, the following exhortation says: “Justice requires that drivers have a full and precise knowledge of the Highway Code. Indeed, those who use the roads should know the regulations and take them into account. Furthermore, drivers are obliged to demonstrate that they are in a suitable physical and psychological condition. If they are inebriated, they should never get behind the wheel of a car nor be authorised to do so. Like anyone else, they are obliged to be sober: in fact, alcohol creates a state of euphoria and reduces mental capacity to the extent of giving rise to fatal accidents”.
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