VOA常速英语2008年-Many US Catholics Out of Step with Church on Co

By Jeff Swicord
Washington
14 April 2008
 

Recent surveys of American Catholics indicate that many are out of step with the Vatican's teachings on contraception and abortion¹. With Pope Benedict visiting the United States beginning April 15, some Catholics are asking the church to take another look at these issues.  VOA's Jeff Swicord reports.

The views of many American Catholic women on sexual issues seem clear. The National Survey of Family Growth says 97 percent of them have used modern contraception.  The National Catholic Reporter shows that 58 percent believe they do not have to follow the teachings of their bishop² on abortion.  Jon O'Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, says he hopes the pope is listening.

"I hope that he uses the opportunity of being here in the United States to hear from people about some of the difficulties, some of the problems, and the challenges that we face in the Catholic Church," O’Brien said.

The Roman Catholic church has been opposed to any form of artificial birth control since the 1930s.  The church teaches that sex should only take place within the context of marriage using natural methods of birth control.

Law professor Helen Alvare is former legal council for the National Conference of Bishops³, and works on pro-life initiatives. She says, "Natural family planning is Catholic Church's sort of research and response to this.  It is a scientifically based process for a woman tracking her fertile and non-fertile periods.  People use it just as much to achieve pregnancy⁴ as they do to avoid one."

O'Brien says natural contraception is not realistic in today's world.  He says it often leads to unwanted pregnancies⁵, and an abortion rate for Catholics that is equal to the general public. "Where Catholics have access to contraception, they use it in spite of what the church says,” O’Brien said. “And that causes an alienation⁶ of most ordinary Catholics from the institution"

The church's policy of abstinence before marriage and natural contraception has also drawn⁷ criticism from groups dealing⁸ with HIV and AIDS. O'Brien says  the church's policies are inhibiting⁹ the fight against the epidemic¹⁰. "When the United States government was deciding to spend billions of dollars in some of the poorest parts of the world on HIV and AIDS prevention, the church, the Catholic hierarchy¹², lobbied hard to stop family planning from being included in that.  And they won," he said.

There is evidence that the abstinence message has helped in some cases.  Helen Alvare says it is no time for the church to tone down its message. "Do I think we should shut up, absolutely not.  Do I think we will get an absolute win, absolutely not.  But I know our message is true and it has evidence that supports it," she said.

Abortion has long been a controversial issue in the United States.  Rev¹¹. Arne Panula is a priest in Washington and a member of Opus Dei, a conservative Catholic organization.  He says the church's teaching on abortion is very clear.

"The principle that the church is upholding here is that it is never right to take an innocent life,” Panula said. “No matter how that life is conceived, once you have a human life here, once you have life, the church holds the sacredness of this life to be invaluable¹³."

The position of Catholics for Choice is that abortion is a private issue of conscience. It says a woman has a right to follow her conscience within church doctrine¹⁴.

"If a woman decides after really thinking and examining her conscience that having an abortion is moral and the right choice for her at that particular time, she is in Catholic teaching entitled to do it.  It doesn't mean abortion is a good thing to do within the Catholic church.” O'Brien explained.

Since being installed as Pope, Benedict has consistently upheld the church's policy on abortion and contraception.  Vatican watchers say his views are unlikely to change. 

1 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

2 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。

3 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。

4 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

5 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

6 alienation   

n.疏远；离间；异化

参考例句：

• The new policy resulted in the alienation of many voters.新政策导致许多选民疏远了。
• As almost every conceivable contact between human beings gets automated,the alienation index goes up.随着人与人之间几乎一切能想到的接触方式的自动化，感情疏远指数在不断上升。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 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。

9 inhibiting   

抑制作用的，约束的

参考例句：

• The high cost of borrowing is inhibiting investment by industry in new equipment. 借款的高成本抑制了企业对新设备的投资。
• The pesticides affect the nervous system by inhibiting the enzyme cholinesterase. 这类农药抑制胆碱酯酶而影响神经系统。

10 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

11 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

12 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

13 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。

14 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。