According to Paul Schratz, editor of the B.C. Catholic, such discussions are common during Lent, a time when "many priests are asking their flocks to take an inner look and engage their own sinfulness." Problems arose when some media outlets took [Bishop Gianfranco Girotti]'s comments "on an awkward new tangent" and said the Church was either replacing the Seven Deadly Sins or adding new ones to the list.

"If your church is teaching that working on the Sabbath is sinful, or that drinking or abortion or gossip are sinful, it's likely that many of your own people don't agree with you," he says. "Leaders need to understand why this is, so they can figure out how to respond."

That's the challenge; people can have radically different ideas of the "biblical concept" of sin. One way to deal with the situation, says Ellers, is for religious leaders "discuss these issues with people -- getting feedback on why so many of their own people differ with them may help them understand how to reach those people more effectively with their teaching."