As a practicing Catholic, it is hard enough to avoid sins.
The last thing I need is some priest telling me that I am
commiting a sin if I throw my water bottle in the trash instead
of the recycling bin. This is bogas.

John Walsh, Mountain View, Ca, USA

Green I got a yaris. Live in the woods. That as far as I'm going its not about the green.

joe keeney, Hemphill, u s a texas

Anyone who doubts the orthodoxy of this should consult what the Catechism and Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI have to say about environmenal sins.

Bob Waldrop, Oklahoma City, USA

I imagine if Father Sutch thinks Jesus commited a sin when He made the fig tree dry up.

Mr. Bishop, please, do something. The rest of Catholics must pray for this priest, asking God to make him enter in a real confessional booth and listen to real sins.

Chris, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

It almost makes me want to return to the fold. Well, not really. In the entire spectrum of sex, from premarital sex to homosexuality to birth control to abortion, well, the Pope and his followers have it all wrong. I'm happy to be a pagan, where naked men and women can dance in a circle under the light of the moon and stars. Let's see, would I rather listen to Benedict's pronouncements about whether or not women can be priests(and if priests can be married etc. ad nauseum), or worship in total festive abandon with others of my wiccan circle? Sorry, your eminence. Mothert Earth has offered me a better deal. Oh, and by the way, when is the Church gonna start selling all those artistic masterpieces in the Vatican, excess real estate, etc. and use it to feed the hungry hordes you are encouraging to come forth to follow the flock. As I told my friend, Dwight Worker, afterI visited your headquarters in Rome..."Has there ever been a better reason to invent the neutron bomb?"

Douglas M. Mason, State College, Pennsylvania

Funnily enough this won't prove to any green cultist that they are religious zealots. After all, you can't prove anything to zealots with facts, their views are based on faith. Also, where are all these people lying about how much they recycle to look good? If any cultist asked me I'd tell them I owned an SUV, flew 100000 NM per year and owned shares in exxon mobile (none are true but would still be funny) people like me don't recycle, we hate the world. Ah, making fun of religious nutters never gets old.

MattR, Melbourne, Victoria

The sacrament of Reconciliation is not a light-hearted talk with the priest about whether or not you recycled that last can of soda. I feel bad for the priest and bad for the people he is deceiving.

I am all for treading lightly on this Earth. We do recycle paper, plastic and glass to the best of our ability, turn off lights when not in use, etc.

I am not for taking a sacrament that Jesus gave us lightly and making a mockery of it.

R.G., the whole philosophy is ABSTIENCE, that is why the church doesn't condone use of condoms and ABC which makes sex a very casual act. And your very wrong idea that the Church says we can only have sex for reproduction can be refuted by Natural Family Planning. The church just teaches that is a marital act, for the union of two people who are married, not something that's casual and for "fun".

LML, Cincinnati, , OH

This is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in awhile. And while the priest may not think it is blasphemous, I m sure most people do.

Robert, Houston , Texas

This is a modernist, Vatican II desease that many Catholics suffer from called "better than Jesus" syndrome.

Simply put... They lost the faith!

Beware lest any man cheat you by philosophy, and vain deceit; according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ. (Colossians 2; 8)

Pat, Redondo Beach, CA

It is so refreshing to hear about a priest doing omething that makes him like a hero instead of a looney!
Humanity has a fantasy that we can used the earth like my 4 cats use their litter boxes...
...Of course, if the catholic church came 'out of the closet', (sarcastic pun intended!), & stated that sex for reproduction, (on this overpopulated planet where a child dies every 3 seconds from maleria), wasn't necessecerily the duty of every catholic, that would be 'deep green' instead of pale, ("kool-aid") green.
If the church distributed condoms to fight STD's and stated it was the duty of every catholic to use one, it would be both green and std-preventive', which is a lot closer to the church's alleged goal of being 'pro_life'I am a former catholic turned Neopagan, Northern Rite.

R.G. Frano, Jersey City, NJ, USA

Buying Indulgences. Nothing new to religions, and is par for the course, with the new Global Warming Cult religion. The Global Warming Cult's High Priest, Al Gore, does it himself with his "carbon credit" scheme, where he pays himself to pollute the environment. I wish I had that job.

Ron, Riverton, Wyoming, USA

this is a pathetic mockery of all that true confession is. the sacraments need to be taken more seriously

sam b., frankln, US

All this proves, is that "green" is the new religion.

Terry Dell, Weybridge, UK

Existence is not hierarchal: title, social status, and position grant no special place in existence. Organized religion and its priests are social creations and thereby clearly are not conduits to God. Avoid organized religions and anyone who claims to have special knowledge of or access to God. Righteous people will be recognized by their right deeds and actions. What goes around comes around, so always strive to do the right thing and you will not need to confess anything to anyone. If you believe God is concern about your conduct and if you believe God listens to prayer, then you have no need for the intercession of a man. Speak directly to God on your own behalf.

JonE, Prescott, Arizona USA

Have the catholics completely lost their minds?

Art, Orange, ca/usa

Why doesn't the Pope get on it and fire these idiots! This is why even Catholics are starting to hate the church

jack baker, LA, usa/CA

How much sillier can it get

mvsanders, zachary, LA

This is a joke. The same people that place animals, plants and the environment at a higher place of importance than humans are the same ones that do not believe in God, and that believe we got here as a result of evolution (which is clearly not supported in any religion). Now they are beckoning us to turn to God to be forgiven for eco-sins? You people are wasted and truly out of touch with reality, know absolutely nothing about science, God, ecology, or the nature of man's sin.

Go study theology, biology and climatology before you dare enter the world of a scientist, you kneejerk arrogant PC idiots.

~A Scientist who is a Christian

Tim, Savannah, USA

The confessional is a place to find forgiveness for sin. This foolishness trivializes confession in the name of political correctness. I am ashamed that the Church would sanction such drivel. God help us all!

Mallory DiGioia, Alpharetta, GA

People say the belief in anthropogenic global warming is a near religion. Well, this certainly makes it a religion now. Has Al Gore confessed?

WJG, Lancaster, PA

To prove that God has a sense of humor, chances are nobody will get struck by lightning at the fair. Am I the only one who has a "silly detector" going off?

I find it hard to believe that the Infinite Creator of our abundant universe will really give a damn if I throw out a beer can.

ROTFL

Gregg, Nashville, USA

The Church knows all. Let's all plant a tree for the Pope so we can go to heaven.

Googie, Lincoln, US/Nebraska

What's the penance? One Hail Mary and three Al Gores?

Rich, Marysville, KS, USA

Read this carefully and you will quickly see that we have returned to the Dark Ages. We are selling indulgences again so that you can sin against God (Nature) and be forgiven. Planting trees now allows you to sin against Nature and you will be forgiven. Nature worship is now the religion that is being practiced by millions, even within the Catholic Church. In the United States we claim that we separate religion from government but Nature worship is now being taught in government sponsored schools. Selling indulgences takes us back to the middle ages; nature worship takes us back to the religion of the cave man. This is a serious problem.

CarlNB, New Braunfels , Texas

So, they have run out of sins in his parish? If this is true he should be moving on to "greener" pastures. The man is being wasted.

Paul, Gilbert, AZ

In a world steeped in violence, sexual license, porn/ drug/ alcohol addictions, contraceptive mentality, abortion one is going to go and confess to a priest that they put a plastic ketchup bottle in the trash rather than in the recycle bin? That they don't drive a hybrid? That they have used more than one sheet of toilet paper (Sheryl Crow)? There house frame is built from wood that came from trees? Where is the sanity in that? How smug!

Chris, Buford, Georgia

"One or two people have said, ‘Father, is this quite right?’ Luckily, more people see it as an excellent idea."

Unluckily, right and wrong is not a matter of popular opinion. What next? "Confessions" for people who reject the geocentric theory of astronomy? Is it blasphemous? Well. having proposed this travesty of a divinely ordained sacrament perhaps you can explain to people why they should continue to take the real sacrament of penance seriously.

Also, if the writer of this article wants to practise objectivity, she should put speech marks round the expression "unethical living". Perhaps another perspective on the social phenomena being observed is social bullying, comparable to witch-hunting.

Kevin, London,

This "priest" is no longer Catholic. He needs to confess HIS sins of worshiping a false god. He has violated many Decrees of the Catholic Church and is thus "Ipso Facto Excommunicated." In order for him to be welcomed back into the Church, he will need to see his Bishop and denounce his errors.

Alexandria, Dingmans Ferry, USA, PA

this is absolute blasphemy. how ludicrous, how insane. How arrogant that he thinks man can have an evil effect on Gods Green Earth and he and the Greenies can affect one way or another. What Would Jesus Drive? In the words of George Carlin he would be driving around in a big honkin stretch suv limo because his entourage of apostles, disciples and roadies needed it.

Jack, Lagrange, il

Raising funds for eco-terrorists... living the dream eh swampy...? More like living the lie...!

Fran K, New York, USA

People should be more worried about their very real sins against God than their bogus sins against Gaia.

Peter Terp, Washington, DC, USA

So now we have real Priests at the new Religion of Green. Maybe the High Priest St Al Gore can levitate over and perform the Miracle of carbon free living. I would suggest that Druids perform the confession due to Union rules.

Desmond Taylor, Houston, USA Tx