美国国家公共电台 NPR After Years Of Abuse By Priests, #NunsToo Are Speaking Out

After Years Of Abuse By Priests, #NunsToo Are Speaking Out

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

When Pope Francis convened³ a meeting on sexual abuse in the Catholic church last month, some of the most shocking stories came from nuns². The meeting gave many a chance to describe decades of abuse at the hands of priests. In the #MeToo era, some are calling this new movement #NunsToo. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports.

SYLVIA POGGIOLI, BYLINE⁴: It's Sunday, and we're in St. Peter's Square. Mexican nun¹, Sister Silvia Lopez, is thrilled the pope has made public what among nuns has long been a painful secret.

SILVIA LOPEZ: (Through interpreter) The pope spoke⁵ out about abuse of nuns and how the whole church must also denounce these terrible things.

POGGLIOLI: An article in the February women's supplement of the official Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, first broke the wall of silence. It blamed abuse of women and minors⁶ on the clerical culture of the all-powerful priesthood. Written by the editor, Lucetta Scaraffia, it's based on hundreds of stories she's heard from nuns. It's very hard for a nun to report she's been raped⁸ by a priest, says Scaraffia, because of the mindset that, in sex, women can always say no.

LUCETTA SCARAFFIA: (Through interpreter) If nuns believe they're the guilty ones for having seduced⁹ that holy man into committing sin because that's what they've always been taught.

POGGLIOLI: Adding to the trauma¹⁰, raped nuns who get pregnant become outcasts, says Scaraffia.

SCARAFFIA: (Through interpreter) These poor women are forced to leave their order and live alone raising their child with no help. Sometimes they're forced to have abortions¹¹, paid by the priest because nuns have no money.

POGGLIOLI: Sister Catherine Aubin, a French-Dominican nun who teaches theology at a pontifical¹² university in Rome says the abuse is the result of male domination in church leadership.

CATHERINE AUBIN: (Through interpreter) The Vatican is a world of men. Some truly are men of God. Others have been ruined by power. And the key to these secrets and silence is abuse of power. They climb up a career staircase toward evil.

POGGLIOLI: Sister Catherine, who also works on the Vatican paper's women's supplement, describes women's treatment inside the male Vatican world.

AUBIN: (Through interpreter) We are unobserved, invisible, ignored and not respected.

POGGLIOLI: But outside the Vatican, the world is changing. Last fall, the International Union of Superiors General, the organization that represents the world's female Catholic religious orders, urged sisters to defy a culture of silence and secrecy¹³ and speak out. In India, a nun has reported to police a bishop¹⁴ for raping¹⁵ her more than a dozen times. He's out on bail¹⁶ awaiting trial. In Chile, the Vatican is investigating a small order of nuns after a local TV revealed some sisters had been kicked out after reporting sexual abuse by priests.

KARLIJN DEMASURE: The movement of the #MeToo has absolutely an influence on the fact that the abuse of nuns comes into the press and on the public forum¹⁷.

POGGLIOLI: Karlijn Demasure, a Belgian expert on sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults, teaches at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. There's no data on the issue, she says, but anecdotal evidence indicates rape⁷ of nuns happens not just in the developing world. As in the movies and in sports, says Demasure, media attention is helping¹⁸ shed light on a long-standing taboo¹⁹.

DEMASURE: It's the first time that it is accepted in the public forum that adult women can be victims of men, and this is very important because before you had the blaming the victim, the woman who was seducing²⁰.

POGGLIOLI: Sister Bernardine Pemii is a Nigerian nun who works as a teacher in Ghana. She just completed a course at the Gregorian University on protection of children and vulnerable adults. On her return home, she says she'll focus on abuse of women.

BERNARDINE PEMII: I am going to empower the nuns. I want to give them a forum to talk about it. If such a thing has happened to them, they should let us know. I will guarantee them that their voices will be heard.

POGGLIOLI: At a recent press conference in Rome, one voice making itself heard belongs to Doris Wagner, a German former nun who has written about being raped by the male superior of her convent when she was 24. After that, another priest made sexual advances on her during confession²¹. When abuse of minors scandals hit Germany, Wagner was inspired to report her abuses to her mother superior.

DORIS WAGNER: She became furious. She was literally²² jumping on her feet. She was shouting at me. First question she was able to ask was, have you used contraceptives? And it was then that I understood that she just refused to understand.

POGGLIOLI: After Wagner went public, her former confessor, Father Hermann Geissler, stepped down in January as chief of staff of the Vatican doctrinal office that handles sex abuse allegations. Wagner, now married and a mother, works as a headhunter for a German company and will never work again for the Catholic Church.

WAGNER: I don't want to be in a vulnerable position. You know, I don't want to be dependent on church leaders again.

POGGLIOLI: Wagner is calling for full investigation²³ of all cases known to the Vatican, that it identify, convict and punish the perpetrators. She also wants compensation for victims, especially nuns who became pregnant.

Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

(SOUNDBITE OF LUDOVICO EINAUDI'S "DROP")

1 nun   

n.修女，尼姑

参考例句：

• I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
• She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。

2 nuns   

n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ah Q had always had the greatest contempt for such people as little nuns. 小尼姑之流是阿Q本来视如草芥的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Nuns are under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. 修女须立誓保持清贫、贞洁、顺从。 来自辞典例句

3 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

4 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。

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 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

8 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

9 seduced   

诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷

参考例句：

• The promise of huge profits seduced him into parting with his money. 高额利润的许诺诱使他把钱出了手。
• His doctrines have seduced many into error. 他的学说把许多人诱入歧途。

10 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

11 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

12 pontifical   

adj.自以为是的，武断的

参考例句：

• His words criticizing modern society just right indicate his pontifical character.他用以批评现代社会的言论恰好反映了他自大武断的性格。
• The lawyer,with pontifical gravity,sat on a high chair.那律师摆出一副威严庄重的样子，坐在一把高脚椅上。

13 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

14 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。

15 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

16 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

17 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

18 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

19 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

20 seducing   

诱奸( seduce的现在分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷

参考例句：

• He got into trouble for seducing the daughter of a respectable tradesman. 他因为引诱一个有名望的商人的女儿而惹上了麻烦。
• Chao Hsin-mei, you scoundrel, you shameless wretch, seducing a married woman. 赵辛楣，你这混帐东西！无耻家伙！引诱有夫之妇。

21 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

22 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

23 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。