The life and resignation of Pope Benedict the 16th

 

Welcome to AS IT IS! … your daily magazine show from VOA Learning English.

I’m June Simms.

Today we look at the life and resignation of Pope Benedict the 16th.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church surprised people around the world this week when he announced plans to resign at the end of the month. It has been almost 600 years since the last pope resigned. 

VOA Reporter Jack¹ Payton will join us to talk about the pope’s life.

But first, Christopher Cruise has more on Pope Benedict’s resignation.

The religious leader surprised Roman Catholic officials when he announced his resignation at the Vatican on Monday. He said he was no longer strong enough to carry out his duties as head of the world’s largest Christian² group. The 85-year-old pope told Vatican officials that his health had worsened in recent months. He said he had to recognize what he called his “incapacity to adequately fulfill³ the ministry⁴ entrusted” to him.

On Tuesday, the Vatican confirmed that Pope Benedict has had a pacemaker for years to help control his heartbeat. 

Pope Benedict spoke⁵ to people gathered in St. Peter’s Square last Sunday. He talked about “peace, harmony and gratitude⁶ to Heaven.” Few people knew that this would be one of the last times he would speak publicly as pope.

Many people were shocked by the pope’s resignation. 

The head of the Anglican Church said he was of “heavy heart” after hearing the news. In South Africa, the Archbishop of Pretoria said the continent’s Catholics would remember the pope fondly. And the Chief Rabbi of Israel said Pope Benedict had improved ties between Judaism and Christianity. 

President Obama and his wife Michelle extended their thanks and prayers to the pope. And German Chancellor⁷ Angela Merkel said Pope Benedict remains⁸ one of the most significant religious thinkers of our time. I’m Christopher Cruise.

We are looking at the life and times of Pope Benedict the 16th on As It Is. I’m June Simms. 

Pope Benedict was born Joseph Ratzinger in 1927 in the German town of Passau. He grew up in Nazi⁹, Germany when Adolf Hitler served as its ruler. His father was a police officer. Young Joseph joined the Hitler Youth organization in 1941 at a time when all German boys were required to do so. He said he left the group as World War Two was ending. 

Joseph studied at a Catholic seminary after the war. He became a clergyman in 1951. He taught theology at several universities from 1959 to 1966. In 1977, he became a Roman Catholic Cardinal¹⁰ and Archbishop of Munich. 

In 1981, Pope John-Paul II named Cardinal Ratzinger the head of the Vatican office that enforces church theology and rules -- the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine¹¹ of the Faith. 

In 2005, Cardinal Ratzinger was 78 years old when he was chosen by his fellow cardinals¹² to take the place of Pope John Paul. He was the first German pope in nearly a thousand years. And he was only the second non-Italian elected pope in more than 500 years. With his resignation, he becomes the first pope to resign since Pope Gregory 12th in 1415. 

Joining us now…VOA Reporter Jack Payton. 

Jack lived in Rome for many years and spent much of that time covering the Roman Catholic Church for various news organizations. Thanks for joining us, Jack. 

Jack, how big of a surprise was the pope’s announcement of his resignation?

This was a huge surprise. It came as a shock even to the pope’s own inner circle. His own brother knew about it but very few other people did. 

Yet there are some reports that suggest he had been planning this for a while.

Well, the pope gave an interview in 2010 in which he said that if a pope becomes infirmed or is unable to do his job he should consider stepping down. Well I think the pope took his own advice.

Jack, what do you think the legacy¹³ is that the pope is leaving behind?

Pope Benedict was a conservative theologically. He believed in conserving¹⁴ the old traditions of the church, as did his predecessor¹⁵ Pope John Paul II. And I think if there’s a legacy there it’s in that conservatism, but also in the makeup¹⁶ of the College of Cardinals. What’s interesting here is that of the 118 cardinals who will be voting on the new pope, 67 of them were chosen by Pope Benedict. The others remaining were chosen by John Paul II. So between the two of them the entire College of Cardinals, the range is much more narrow than it used to be. 

Now his conservative position created some controversy¹⁷ for him over the years.

Yes it has. I mean the church has maintained its stand on birth control. It shows no sign of allowing women to become priests. Of course, the Pope was also faced with a huge scandal during his pontific, and that is the sex scandals involving priests and young people. So his papacy is going to be remembered for traditionalism and it’s going to be remembered for the scandal that he’s had to deal with, among other things.

And how well do you think he handled that particular scandal?

It’s been a very tough time for the church and a lot of people thought the church was too slow in recognizing the problem and dealing¹⁸ with the problem. Now it is, but lawsuits¹⁹ are piling up in countries around the world. And it’s costing the church a lot of money to deal with this issue, in addition to the prestige and the standing²⁰ that it’s lost in the world.

How quickly will the cardinals be meeting to begin the process of electing a new pope?

Right now it appears that the cardinals will be meeting in conclave²¹ in the Sistine Chapel²² probably by mid-March and they hope to have a new pope in place certainly in time for the Easter observances.

Thank you so much for joining us Jack. Thank you. 

Thank you for having me.

And you will be joining our very own Kelly Jean Kelly tomorrow for more on the possible candidates. 

Pope Benedict will hold his final audience in St. Peter’s Square on February 27th. His resignation will take effect one day later. 

And that’s AS IT IS for today. I’m June Simms in Washington. 

Tune²³ in again tomorrow as Kelly Jean Kelly returns with Jack Payton to look at what lies ahead for the papacy. 

1 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。

2 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。

3 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

4 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。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

7 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

10 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。

11 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。

12 cardinals   

红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数

参考例句：

• cardinals in scarlet robes 身披红袍的枢机主教
• A conclave of cardinals was held to elect the new Pope. 红衣主教团举行了秘密会议来选举新教皇。

13 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

14 conserving   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
• Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网

15 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

16 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

17 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

18 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

19 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

20 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

21 conclave   

n.秘密会议，红衣主教团

参考例句：

• Signore,I ask and I prey,that you break this conclave.各位阁下，我请求，并祈祷，你们能停止这次秘密会议。
• I met my partner at that conclave and my life moved into a huge shift.我就是在那次大会上遇到了我的伴侣的，而我的生活就转向了一个巨大的改变。

22 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

23 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。