美国国家公共电台 NPR Pope Francis OKs Discussion Of Female Deacons In Catholicism

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Pope Francis has opened the door to the possibility of female deacons in the Roman Catholic Church. But women are already working in ministry¹ - some officially and some without permission from the church. St. Louis Public Radio's Shahla Farzan has the story.

SHAHLA FARZAN, BYLINE²: In a dimly lit living room, Marie Andrews leans forward, takes the hand of Mary Bohley, and begins to pray.

MARIE ANDREWS: Light divine, remind us, in spite of all of our weakness...

FARZAN: Every week for the past two years, Andrews has visited Bohley at her home in St. Louis. Bohley is 93, and she's not able to make it to church anymore. She calls Andrews' visits a blessing³, a lifeline to the outside world. And she prays for her.

MARY BOHLEY: Thank you, dear Jesus, for coming to me in this special way today through Marie.

FARZAN: As an officially sanctioned Eucharistic minister, Andrews carries a small wooden cross wrapped in cloth, along with a wafer. In addition to praying together, Andrews brings communion to Bohley. The bread was consecrated⁴ by a priest, something Andrews can't do because she's not ordained⁶. She's not ordained because she's a woman.

ANDREWS: I have six brothers, and I am the only girl. And their saying was always, oh, with all these boys, surely one of them will be a priest. I am the only one who has consistently wanted to be a priest.

FARZAN: Andrews points out that while the Catholic Church doesn't ordain⁵ women as priests or deacons...

ANDREWS: I think it's important to know that women are doing this ministry without the orders. Edward Schillebeeckx, who's a huge Catholic theologian, says there is no lacking in ministry. There is only a lacking in orders.

FARZAN: In October, Pope Francis said he would reopen a commission to study the possibility of women deacons in the church. Deacons are allowed to oversee⁷ marriages and baptisms. But unlike priests, they cannot hear confession⁸.

DAVID MECONI: The word deacon can mean simply servant, one who lays down his or her life for others in terms of whatever service is at hand.

FARZAN: Father David Meconi teaches theology at St. Louis University. He says the Bible mentions women deacons, but...

MECONI: There's no evidence whatsoever⁹ that the deaconate was open to men and women in terms of an ordained order.

FARZAN: Meconi points to the many roles open to women in the Catholic Church today, like campus ministers and pastoral associates. But he says restricting ordination¹⁰ to men is an essential part of the faith.

MECONI: We do belong to a religion in which God himself chose to become a man, and we believe that as God, he didn't participate in any kind of misogyny. And when he picked those 12 apostles, that's a divine, free act.

FARZAN: But some people who describe themselves as Catholics disagree, including Elsie McGrath. She says barring women from the clergy¹¹ is a manmade rule, not a divine one. In fact, the 81-year-old feels so strongly about women in ministry, she did something radical¹² in 2007. McGrath became an ordained priest.

ELSIE MCGRATH: This had nothing to do with me personally. This was what the spirit within me was leading me to, and I would find out along the way why.

FARZAN: For being ordained, McGrath was excommunicated. She now leads what she calls an inclusive Roman Catholic community in St. Louis.

(SOUNDBITE OF SERVICE)

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: This is the cup of the covenant¹³ in my blood, poured out for you.

FARZAN: The Archdiocese of St. Louis doesn't officially recognize the congregation, which meets at a Unitarian church. There are more than 200 women priests and deacons in the U.S. today, according to the Roman Catholic Women Priests association. McGrath says they're trying to show people what the church can be.

MCGRATH: Our choice is to remain in the church and effect change from the bottom up because that's the only way change ever happens anywhere.

FARZAN: McGrath believes the church will eventually accept female clergy, just not in her lifetime. For NPR News, I'm Shahla Farzan in St. Louis.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

4 consecrated   

adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献

参考例句：

• The church was consecrated in 1853. 这座教堂于1853年祝圣。
• They consecrated a temple to their god. 他们把庙奉献给神。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 ordain   

vi.颁发命令；vt.命令，授以圣职，注定，任命

参考例句：

• The church's ruling body voted to ordain women as priests.该教会的管理机构投票通过接纳女性为牧师。
• The essence of management refers to its internal inevitable ordain quality,and is also called ultimate attribute.管理的本质是指管理自身内在的必然的规定性，即根本属性。

6 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句

7 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

8 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

9 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

10 ordination   

n.授任圣职

参考例句：

• His ordination gives him the right to conduct a marriage or a funeral.他的晋升圣职使他有权主持婚礼或葬礼。
• The vatican said the ordination places the city's catholics in a "very delicate and difficult decision."教廷说，这个任命使得这个城市的天主教徒不得不做出“非常棘手和困难的决定”。

11 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

12 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

13 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。