VOA标准英语2010年-Pope Expresses Shock, Sadness Over Sex

Pope Benedict says it is difficult to understand the perversion¹ that has been revealed in the priestly ministry². He addressed the clerical sex abuse scandal that has engulfed³ the Roman Catholic Church in comments to journalists on the plane from Rome to Edinburgh at the start of his visit to Britain.

The pope said that that these revelations were for him a shock and cause for great sadness.

There is also sadness, the pope said, in that the authority of the church was not sufficiently⁴ vigilant⁵ and not sufficiently quick in deciding to take the necessary measures.

The pope said for the Roman Catholic Church this must be a time of penance⁶, humility⁷ and renewed sincerity⁸. He added that a commitment for the victims of sexual abuse is the first priority.

Benedict also said the problem of finding the right punishment for those who are guilty must be addressed. He said these people must not be given access to young people, a way must be found to help them, to protect them against themselves.

He also spoke⁹ about prevention and the need to be careful in the choice of candidates for the priesthood.

This is the first state visit by a pontiff to Britain. Pope John Paul II carried out a pastoral visit in 1982 and was given a very warm welcome at the time. This time, there is strong anti-clerical and anti-Catholic sentiment, but Pope Benedict told journalists he is not concerned about this.

Benedict said Britain has its own history of anti-Catholicism, but also a history of tolerance¹⁰. He said Western countries each in their own way and according to their own history have strong anti-clerical and anti-Catholic currents, but also a strong presence of faith.

He said he expected to be received warmly by Catholics and believers and with reciprocal respect and tolerance by anti-Catholics.

1 perversion   

n.曲解；堕落；反常

参考例句：

• In its most general sense,corruption means the perversion or abandonment.就其最一般的意义上说，舞弊就是堕落，就是背离准则。
• Her account was a perversion of the truth.她所讲的歪曲了事实。

2 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。

3 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

5 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

6 penance   

n.（赎罪的）惩罪

参考例句：

• They had confessed their sins and done their penance.他们已经告罪并做了补赎。
• She knelt at her mother's feet in penance.她忏悔地跪在母亲脚下。

7 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。

8 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

9 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。

10 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。