VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS - Pope Francis and Jorge Mario Bergoglio's position on issues in the Roman Catholic Church

 

AS IT IS - Pope Francis and Jorge Mario Bergoglio's position on issues in the Roman Catholic Church

Hi again. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Catholics around the world have been welcoming the new pope. He is Cardinal¹ Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina. He is the first pope from outside Europe in more than one thousand years. And he is the first pope to take the name Francis.

VOA’s Jack² Payton reported on the Vatican for many years. He talked to VOA’s David Byrd about Pope Francis and his position on issues in the Roman Catholic Church.

“He’s known for having very traditional Catholic attitudes towards doctrine³. This involves questions of women priests, celibacy⁴, all of these issues.

Where he differs on some of these issues is his view of what they call social issues. Helping⁵ the poor. He’s known to favor a more equitable⁶ distribution of wealth.”

“And of course there are also issues like the sexual abuse scandal in the church itself that he’s going to have to deal with.”

“One of many issues. The sexual abuse scandal, as you know, has been bubbling up for the past decade. And we don’t know his position on that. It’s most likely he’s going to be a very tough disciplinarian on that issue, as was Pope Benedict.”

The world has more than a billion Catholics. Leaders of countries with large Catholic populations have been offering congratulations to Pope Francis. And so have leaders of other countries. At the same time, Jim Tedder⁷ reports that some people are hoping the new pope can improve relations between Catholics and Muslims.

Relations between Catholic and Muslim leaders were tense under the last pope. They became especially difficult after a speech that Benedict the Sixteenth made in Germany in 2006. Many Muslims objected to a story he told about the Prophet Muhammed spreading Islam through violence -- “by the sword."

The Organization of the Islamic Cooperation represents 57 countries. Its secretary-general sent a letter congratulating Pope Francis and saying he hoped a “sincere friendship” would be renewed.

One of the organization’s senior leaders, who is Palestinian, also welcomed the new pope. Saeb Erekat talked about an invitation from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for a visit by Pope Francis.

“President Abbas extended an invitation to his holiness to visit the Holy Land – to visit Jerusalem and to visit Bethlehem.”

The president of Israel, Shimon Peres, speaking in Jerusalem, also congratulated Pope Francis.

“The holy pope is a meaningful leader for all of us, not just for the Catholic community.”

In Moscow, a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church said relations would be close with the new pope. Father Kirill Gorbunov said he heard Pope Francis had once visited the Russian Orthodox Church and knew about the faith.

President Barack Obama called Pope Francis a defender⁸ of the poor. He said choosing a pope from Latin America shows how strong and important that area is becoming.

And in Argentina, where Pope Francis is from, people in the capital of Buenos Aires gathered outside the city’s main church.

One Argentine said she is happy not just for herself, but for the entire Catholic church.

The president of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez, praised the new pope's decision to take the name Francis.

“We wish from the bottom of our hearts that Francisco will be able to achieve a greater level of understanding between people, between religions. That choosing the name Francisco, which I believe is in reference to St. Francis of Assisi, the saint of the poor, will be the option chosen by the highest Church leaders so that we can finally reunite all humanity, all humans as equal, with fellowship, with love, with justice and equity⁹.”

President Fernandez clashed in the past with Pope Francis over the issue of gay marriage.

I’m Jim Tedder.

Pope Francis represents another first. He is the first Jesuit pope. The Jesuits are a group within the Catholic Church known for their focus on education and the poor. Caty Weaver¹⁰ tells about the history of the Jesuits.

The Society of Jesus is the official name of the Jesuit order. The group is nearly 500 years old. But that is a lot younger than many other Catholic orders, such as the Benedictines and Dominicans. Father William Currie is a Jesuit and the former president of a Jesuit school in Tokyo. He says “Jesuitical” used to be a bad word.

“It meant someone who was devious¹¹ and sly and cunning and that sort of thing.”

Ricardo Jalbuena attended Jesuit schools in the Philippines for almost his entire education.

“The beauty about the Jesuit community is that it is a very dynamic and diverse culture of great theological minds, who are always there to study, explore, challenge ideas.”

Many Jesuits live humble¹² lives, without fancy homes, cars or expensive clothes. That humility¹³ is one reason that many people have said the new pope chose the name Francis. Francis of Assisi is a Catholic saint who led a poor, simple lifestyle.

But Mr. Jalbuena believes Pope Francis chose his name for Francis Xavier. That was one of the Jesuits’ founders¹⁴. In the sixteenth century, Francis Xavier spent years bringing the Catholic faith to India, Indonesia and Japan.

The new pope has not yet said why he chose the name Francis.

I’m Caty Weaver.

And I’m Kelly Jean Kelly. That’s all the time we have for today.

1 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

2 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

4 celibacy   

n.独身(主义)

参考例句：

• People in some religious orders take a vow of celibacy. 有些宗教修会的人发誓不结婚。
• The concept of celibacy carries connotations of asceticism and religious fervor. 修道者的独身观念含有禁欲与宗教热情之意。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

7 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

8 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

9 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

10 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

11 devious   

adj.不坦率的，狡猾的；迂回的，曲折的

参考例句：

• Susan is a devious person and we can't depend on her.苏姗是个狡猾的人，我们不能依赖她。
• He is a man who achieves success by devious means.他这个人通过不正当手段获取成功。

12 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

13 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

14 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句