VOA慢速英语2014 天主教全球主教会议表决 无法通过接受同性恋群体

 

AS IT IS 2014-10-21 Catholic Bishops¹ Reject Plan to 'Welcome' Gays 天主教全球主教会议表决 无法通过接受同性恋群体

Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church have decided² not to approve a plan to welcome homosexuals into the church. Two hundred bishops from around the world met for two weeks at Vatican City. They released a final statement on Saturday at the end of the meeting. The meeting is called a synod.  

A document released after the first week of the synod suggested the Catholic Church would be more welcoming to people who have same-sex love relationships. It said the church should accept and value homosexuals and should give them what it called a “welcoming home.”

But the final document says only that homosexuals should, in its words, “be welcomed with respect and sensitivity.” It said that acting³ against gays “is to be avoided.”

Conservatives both inside and outside the church had strongly criticized the earlier document. They called for major changes in it. This showed a large difference of opinion between conservatives and liberals in the church.

Earlier in the week, church officials made changes to the English version of the first document. It had been written in Italian. The first version said the church should “welcome” homosexuals. The changed document -- the translation -- said it should “provide for” homosexuals.

Liberals praised the earlier document. They included New Ways Ministry⁴, a leading U.S. Catholic gay rights group. It said the document was a “major step forward.” The London-based Catholic gay rights group QUEST called parts of it “a breakthrough in that they acknowledge that such unions have an intrinsic goodness and constitute a valuable contribution to wider society and the common good.”

But conservatives reacted strongly against it. They said it was a rejection⁵ of traditional family values. John Smeaton is one of the founders⁶ of the conservative group Voice of the Family. He said “those who are controlling the synod have betrayed Catholic parents worldwide.” He said the earlier document was one of the worst in church history.

Some observers called the early document a "revolution" and a "pastoral earthquake."

The earlier document was very different from past Catholic statements on homosexuality. Those statements often strongly criticized same-sex love relationships. Instead, it said homosexuals had “gifts and qualities to offer” the Christian⁷ community. And it said homosexual relationships give aid and support to people in them. It asked if the Catholic faith could accept gays, and recognize positive aspects of people living together before they are married.

The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual feelings are not sinful. But it says homosexual acts are sinful. It opposes divorce, gay marriage and polygamy -- people being married to more than one person. And it does not approve of people living together or having sexual intercourse⁸ before they are married.

The synod was not called to change official church policy. But some people inside the church and others wanted the church to change how it serves people who are gay, divorced or living with someone before being married. And they wanted to make the language of the church less critical of homosexuals. Church documents written before the election of Pope Francis in 2013 had strongly criticized homosexuals.

Documents were released on Thursday from 10 groups at the synod. They showed that many bishops wanted to make changes to the earlier statement. Pope Francis was believed to support the earlier document. But parts of it did not receive the two-thirds vote needed to be included in the final statement.  

The bishops also rejected a plan that would have let Catholics who had divorced and remarried outside the church to receive Holy Communion.  They believe this ceremony of bread and wine represents the body and blood of Jesus Christ.    

The final document from the synod will be studied by Catholics around the world as the 1.2 billion members of the faith prepare for more changes next year. That is when another, larger synod is to meet at the Vatican.

On Sunday, after the synod ended, Pope Francis spoke⁹ during a Catholic religious ceremony called a Mass. He said “God is not afraid of new things. This is why he is continually surprising us, opening our hearts and guiding us in unexpected ways.”

Some observers said the Pope’s words might have been a criticism of some of the church leaders who had rejected a new approach to homosexuals and divorced couples during the synod. Some of those leaders were at the Mass.

Pope Francis has said the Church must be more compassionate¹⁰ with homosexuals. Last year he said “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?”

Words in This Story

homosexual – n. a person sexually attracted to people of the same sex

synod – n. a formal meeting of church leaders

divorce – n. the ending of a marriage by a legal process

polygamy – n. the state or practice of being married to more than one person at the same time

approach – n. the act of speaking to someone for some purpose

1 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。

2 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。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 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。

5 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

6 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

7 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

8 intercourse   

n.性交；交流，交往，交际

参考例句：

• The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
• There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

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 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。