美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Seeks Catholic Voters, But Many Catholics Push Back

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

If you spend any time watching Joe Biden speak over the years, you know that he is a Catholic. It is part of his political identity, which is convenient as Catholics make up a large part of the population in states where the election is likely to be decided¹. Not surprisingly, the Trump² campaign is making a pitch for their support as well, and this is just dividing the church more. Here's NPR's Tom Gjelten.

TOM GJELTEN, BYLINE³: The Catholic Church's official view on how to think about voting is in a document called Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship⁴. The bottom line - the church aims to influence parties but does not side with one. Under U.S. law, it can't. Chieko Noguchi is spokesperson for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops⁵.

CHIEKO NOGUCHI: Part of the church's mission is to shape the moral character of society. But the church isn't aligned⁶ with any political party, and it doesn't support or oppose any candidate for elected office.

GJELTEN: That is not the message President Trump wants Catholics to hear. His campaign has organized a Catholics for Trump movement. On a recent Saturday, Trump hosted a call with Catholic leaders, reportedly asking them to support his reelection. Cardinal⁷ Timothy Dolan of New York is said to have boasted how often he speaks with the president on the phone. In turn, Trump announced he'd watch Cardinal Dolan's online service the next day at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. On the following Monday, Dolan was interviewed on Fox News.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOX NEWS BROADCAST)

TIMOTHY DOLAN: And it was sure good...

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yes.

DOLAN: ...To have the president with us yesterday. He's been - I really salute⁸ his leadership.

GJELTEN: Progressive Catholics and others who want to keep their church out of politics were dismayed. In an editorial, The National Catholic Reporter called the exchange between Dolan and the president cringe worthy⁹. Heidi Schlumpf is the magazine's editor-in-chief.

HEIDI SCHLUMPF: We think Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the other bishops who were on that call - but especially him - that he was really making a mistake in letting this president co-opt him in an attempt to get Catholic votes.

GJELTEN: But many conservative Catholics are all-in for Trump. The group CatholicVote.org hosted a town hall last week with Mick Mulvaney, Trump's former chief of staff and a devout¹⁰ Catholic. Former Republican Congressman¹¹ Tim Huelskamp had the key question.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TIM HUELSKAMP: If you had one message for Catholics out there in the upcoming election, what would it be?

GJELTEN: Mulvaney's answer - Catholics shouldn't vote for a Democrat¹².

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MICK MULVANEY: There is something that doesn't connect anymore between faith and the Democrat party. And you may like Democrats¹³; you may want to vote for them. But you put the Democrats in charge and the values that you carry as a Roman Catholic are going to suffer.

GJELTEN: Like everyone else, Catholics are divided. The church's opposition¹⁴ to abortion¹⁵ and same-sex marriage inclines many of them to support Republican candidates. But it also advocates for immigrants and the poor and opposes the death penalty. Heidi Schlumpf of the National Catholic Reporter says the faithful should keep all the church positions in mind.

SCHLUMPF: Church teaching says that we need to have a consistent ethic¹⁶ of life, where we look at all human life as valuable. That's why we see this cozying up with one party over a specific issue - and again, admittedly an important issue for many Catholics - as problematic.

GJELTEN: Surveys suggest that most Catholics voted for Trump in the last election. But this year, Joe Biden is his likely opponent, and Latinos who did not support Trump last time around are now a growing share of Catholic voters. So the competition to win their support is likely to be fierce.

Tom Gjelten, NPR News.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

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 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

5 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。

6 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

7 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。

8 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

9 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

10 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

11 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

12 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

13 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

15 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。

16 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。