智利天主教的主教们因性侵丑闻而辞职

Chile’s Catholic Bishops² Offer to Resign Over Sex Abuse Cover-up

Every active Chilean bishop¹ in the Roman Catholic Church offered to resign Friday.

The offer came after Pope Francis accused the bishops of failing to investigate sex abuse cases and protect children.

All 31 Chilean church officials made the offer to resign at the end of an emergency meeting at the Vatican. The pope can accept their resignations, reject them, or delay a decision.

But their offer is a historic step in the Catholic Church’s long struggle with sex abuse and cover-ups by religious workers. It reportedly is the first time that an entire group of bishops has offered to step down after a scandal.

Mea culpa

Calls for their resignation came after the media learned of a 2,300-page Vatican report about the sex abuse scandal in Chile. Pope Francis had noted³ information from the report in a document that he gave each Chilean bishop at the start of the meeting.

In the document, he accused the bishops of destroying evidence of sex crimes, pressuring investigators⁴ to minimize abuse claims, and failing to protect children from pedophile priests.

In a statement, the bishops asked forgiveness for their mistakes. They said they hoped to help repair the damage they caused.

One of the victims said the bishops exposed helpless people to abuse and then tried to stop justice.

“For this,” he said, “they deserve only to go.”

I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

Words in this Story

bishop - n. an official in some Christian⁵ religions who is ranked higher than a priest and who is usually in charge of church matters in a specific geographical⁶ area

church - n. a particular Christian group

entire - adj. complete or full

scandal - n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong

pedophile - adj. a person who has a sexual interest in children

expose - v. to cause (someone) to experience something or to be influenced or affected⁷ by something

deserve - v. used to say that someone or something should or should not have or be given something

1 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

2 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。