Some say what happened during the mortgage crisis is a crime. But is it a sin?
A yes comes from the Rev. Tom Goodhue, executive director of Long Island Council of Churches, which has been getting many calls from members asking for help for their parishioners.
“The whole mortgage-backed securities industry is a prime example of people not taking sin seriously,” said Goodhue, who took economics courses in college and has been organizing help seminars for borrowers. “There is within this industry a brokenness that is a manifestation of sin.”
In last month's council newsletter, Goodhue tackled the topic in a column titled “Restoring Trust and Taking Sin Seriously.” He raised the question of why people didn’t expect sin to be committed when lenders and mortgage brokers pushed exotic loans; investors bought packaged loans but didn’t know what was in them; and credit ratings agencies, who rated the loans as solid investments, are paid by the deal makers rather than investors.
When asked if some borrowers and loan officers had committed sins, Goodhue replied that it’s the motivation that matters, and often, it was greed that led to lying on applications, pushing of bad loans and refinancing: “Sin is anything that separates you from God and your true self. We tend to think of specific acts as sin. In Christian theology, it is a state of being.”
But what prompted Goodhue to expound on sin and mortgage?
“I wrote about it because I didn’t hear anybody talking about this,” he said.
He thinks no one has asked about sin-mortgage connection because no one wants to admit they did something wrong. “I think we’ve evolved into ‘everybody’s a victim’ society,” the reverend said. “Everybody is looking for people to blame.”
Goodhue said there’s a lot of blame to go around in the mortgage woes.
The council has organized two mortgage help sessions in the new year. One will be held Jan. 27 at the Westbury Friends School, 550 Post Ave. near Jericho Turnpike; the worship starts 11 am, followed by a noon lunch and the mortgage discussion. The phone there is 516-333-3178. Help in English and Spanish will be available 10 a.m. Feb. 9 at the Christian Lutheran Church, 61 North Grove Street, Freeport. Number there is 516-378-1258.
Newsday File Photo, 2006 / Kathy Kmonicek