Different Sins For Different Sexes

According to a new Vatican study, Roman Catholic men and women sin differently.

The study was based on confessions taken by Roberto Busa, a 95-year-old Jesuit scholar. The results were supported by the Catholic Church.

Father Jim Martin, an associate editor for America Magazine, discussed the report with Weekend Edition host Scott Simon. He says that the most common sin among women was pride, while lust topped the list for men — or at least, that's what churchgoers actually owned up to.

"You read the survey, and you could also interpret it as those are the sins they confess more," Martin says. "Which may not mean that they're actually sinning in that way, but those are the sins they confess most often to confessors."

Gluttony and sloth round up the top three for men, while envy and anger are second and third on the women's list. Martin says that the survey corresponds largely to his experience as a clergyman, though he also finds that women confess to "gossip" quite frequently.

And upon request, Martin also recounts his favorite "guy goes into a confessional" joke.