美国国家公共电台 NPR For The Catholic Church, A Year Of Unending Clergy Abuse Revelations

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Here in the U.S., the Catholic Church has been in turmoil¹. In Pennsylvania, a grand jury report released this summer laid out decades of misconduct and cover-ups. More than 300 priests across the state were implicated². Despite all of this, some parishioners worry the church isn't taking the issue seriously enough. Virginia Alvino Young from member station WESA in Pittsburgh has the story.

VIRGINIA ALVINO YOUNG, BYLINE³: At her brick home in a suburb outside of Pittsburgh, Stephanie Pennock entertains her youngest son while her older two boys are at school.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Where's the Batman one?

STEPHANIE PENNOCK: Where's Batman?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yeah.

YOUNG: Growing up in Erie, Pa., Pennock attended Catholic grade school, Catholic high school and mass every week.

PENNOCK: There was a series of priests that we went through very quickly. It was kind of - there were rumors⁴ about what actually happened. Nothing ever much came to light about that.

YOUNG: When the grand jury report came out in August, Pennock saw some familiar names in the details. One of her childhood pastors⁵ and a deacon who taught at her school both faced accusations⁶ of sexual misconduct.

PENNOCK: That was the moment that I said, you know what? Enough is enough, and I cannot be part of it. I cannot ever put money in collection basket again. I just cannot be part of this anymore. I just walked away from it. And I don't feel like I can ever go back to it.

YOUNG: Mass attendance across the Pittsburgh diocese is declining. While Bishop⁷ David Zubik doesn't face any accusations of abuse himself, he's named hundreds of times in the grand jury report. It alleges⁸ he played a role in relocating so-called predator⁹ priests to other parishes.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DAVID ZUBIK: As I have said many times from my heart, the protection of children and the healing of victims truly is the priority of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

YOUNG: At a press conference this month, Zubik announced that the diocese was voluntarily instituting a compensation fund to pay settlements to victims of clergy¹⁰ sexual assault.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ZUBIK: We have continually sought to strengthen and improve our policies over the course of the last 30 years. This effort will never be finished until the scourge¹¹ of child sexual abuse is eradicated¹² from our society.

TERRY MCKIERNAN: They didn't want that history to be examined.

YOUNG: Terry McKiernan says apologies, payouts and prevention efforts aren't enough. He's the founder¹³ of bishopaccountability.org and says leaders across the Catholic Church have hoped for years that the sexual abuse scandal would be considered a thing of the past.

MCKIERNAN: They wanted it to be left in the archives and forgotten. What they learned in Pennsylvania this year is that that's not going to happen.

YOUNG: After the Boston abuse scandal in 2002, the Vatican approved a zero-tolerance policy for clergy who abuse children. But McKiernan says there still aren't any mechanisms¹⁴ in place to hold accountable bishops¹⁵ or those who cover up abuse. They report directly to the pope. U.S. bishops were expecting to vote on new accountability measures at a gathering¹⁶ in November, but the pope ordered the effort to be delayed until February. Either way, McKiernan is skeptical¹⁷ of internal accountability efforts. He's pushing for more external pressure, like the investigation¹⁸ and report by the Illinois attorney general this month detailing allegations against 500 priests the church had failed to disclose earlier.

MCKIERNAN: We're seeing forces outside the church compelling and really shaming the church into behaving accountably and behaving at least somewhat transparently¹⁹.

YOUNG: Despite the scandal, pews across the U.S. aren't empty. Pittsburgh-area resident Alicia Davin continues to attend mass, despite her criticism of the church's actions. The 37-year-old says she's disturbed by recent revelations but that guilty individuals don't have power over her faith or her worship.

ALICIA DAVIN: For me, like, discontinuing going to church is not going to help me find the justice and help me figure out what can be done.

YOUNG: She says for the church to move forward, it's important to clean house, including Bishop Zubik.

DAVIN: It has become pretty evident over now the past couple of months that he should probably resign and step down.

YOUNG: Davin says she's more skeptical than optimistic that anything significant will come from the worldwide gathering of Catholic leadership at the Vatican in February.

DAVIN: There's recognition, I believe. Something has to happen or there's going to be more to reckon with. Something has to be said. Something has to be done. Something has to come from the pope. So is that what's going to happen in February? Let's see.

YOUNG: Davin says another fumbled²⁰ response could plunge²¹ the church into an even deeper crisis. For NPR News, I'm Virginia Alvino Young in Pittsburgh.

(SOUNDBITE OF BADBADNOTGOOD'S "HEDRON")

1 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

2 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pastors   

n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do we show respect to our pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers? 我们有没有尊敬牧师、宣教士，以及主日学的老师？ 来自互联网
• Should pastors or elders be paid, or serve as a volunteer? 牧师或长老需要付给酬劳，还是志愿的事奉呢？ 来自互联网

6 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

7 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。

8 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

9 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

10 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

11 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

12 eradicated   

画着根的

参考例句：

• Polio has been virtually eradicated in Brazil. 在巴西脊髓灰质炎实际上已经根除。
• The disease has been eradicated from the world. 这种疾病已在全世界得到根除。

13 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

14 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 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。

16 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

17 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

18 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

19 transparently   

明亮地，显然地，易觉察地

参考例句：

• "Clearly plots,'said Jacques Three. "Transparently!" “显然是搞阴谋，”雅克三号说，“再清楚不过了。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• All design transparently, convenient for the file identification inside the bag. 全透明设计，方便袋内文件识别。

20 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

21 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。