I am now more than 2/3 through the second draft. Here's an excerpt from the chapter on penance:
"Sin isn't committed in a vacuum; it affects other people. There is
no such thing as a private sin. It's like the natural environment we all
share. What we do on our own property touches others. Running a factory
that emits billows of black smoke or dumps toxic waste into the
waterways is going to affect many beyond our own boundaries. If, on the
other hand, we plant trees, which absorb carbon monoxide and give off
oxygen, that will freshen the air for everyone, beginning with those
closest to us. It's the same in the spiritual world. Even the most
private and hidden sins hurt others. Even the most hidden acts of
charity help others.
"Furthermore, mankind is in a sense a single organism, so everything
we do either spiritually helps or harms everyone else. In the First
Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul spoke at length of the ramifications
of our being one body in Christ, concluding, “If one member suffers,
all suffer together" (1 Cor 12:26). On a spiritual level, every sin we
commit, even in secret, makes the world a little darker; every
Christlike thing we do, even in secret, makes it a little brighter. Thus
we need to make reparation to our fellow man as well as to God."