教皇在非洲发表演讲谈及贫困、气候和贪婪

AS IT IS 2015-11-29 Pope Talks to Africa About Poverty, Climate and Greed 教皇在非洲发表演讲谈及贫困、气候和贪婪

It is the first time this Pope has been to Africa. 

Three countries, 19 speeches, and big issues to address.

These issues include poverty, the environment, and finding peace between Muslims and Christians².

The African continent plays an important role for the Catholic Church. PEW Research says there are more than 170 million Catholics in sub-Saharan Africa. Both Catholics and Muslims are projected to increase “dramatically” over the next 35 years in Africa, according to Pew.

With stops in Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic, human rights supporters hope he will push for political rights, religious tolerance³ and respect for minorities.

Large, adoring crowds have turned out to see the popular pope.

Pope Francis put poverty front and center in Kenya. His visited the slum of Kangemi, to show his support of the poor.

He spoke⁴ at the St. Joseph the Worker Catholic church. Speaking through a translator, Pope Francis said he understands the difficulty the poor deal with every day.

“I am here,” he said, “because I want you to know that your joys and hopes, your troubles and your sorrow, are not indifferent to me. I realize the difficulties which you experience daily. How can I not denounce the injustices⁶ which you suffer?”

People cheered when he said that keeping water from people is a great injustice⁵. The pope said it is a serious problem when people do not have access to infrastructure⁷ or basic services. Electricity, schools, roads and hospitals are human rights, he said. Even studios and workshops for artists and workers.

He blamed “a selfish minority” for holding power and wealth that makes others poor.

Later, the crowd cheered as he arrived at a rally for young people at a sports stadium. He stood and waved from his partly open, partly protected, white vehicle, called the “pope-mobile.” Pope Francis told tens of thousands of young Africans to resist corruption⁸.

He said corruption is like sugar: One can develop a taste for it, but in the end, it is destructive.

The head of the Catholic Church also told the crowd to give up tribalism. Loyalty⁹ to tribes are sometimes stronger than political ties in Africa. It can lead to violence, like female genital mutilation (FGM).

While in Kenya, the pope spoke about the environment. At the United Nations Environment Program in Nairobi on Thursday, he called for immediate¹⁰ action to stop climate change.

He said: “In this international context, we are confronted with a choice which cannot be ignored: either to improve or to destroy the environment.”

His comments come just days before a U.N. meeting on climate change in Paris. He said it would be catastrophic if nothing is done to stop climate change.

“In a few days, an important meeting on climate change will be held in Paris," he said. "It would be sad, and I dare say even catastrophic, were particular interests to prevail over the common good.”

Also while in Kenya, the pope spoke to a group of Christian¹ and Muslim leaders. He said they must talk about guarding against radical¹¹ behavior, and acts of violence in the name of God.

Pope Francis said talk between the two religions is “essential.” He said too often, young people are “radicalized in the name of religion” to spread “discord and fear.”

The second stop of the pope’s African tour is Uganda, where his plane touched down Friday. Arriving in Entebbe, he praised the country for its “outstanding” response in welcoming refugees.

The U.N. says Uganda hosts more than a half-million refugees. Most of them have fled from war and conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.

Pope Francis said Uganda has shown outstanding concern for refugees and helped them “rebuild their lives in security, with a sense of dignity.”

He said how we deal with refugees “is a test of our humanity.”  And, he said, the “world looks to Africa as the continent of hope.”

His comments come as Europe and the United States struggle with placing refugees from Syria and other countries at war. This, after the terrorist attacks in Paris by Muslim extremists.

The final stop on his tour is the Central African Republic on Sunday, where he will again hope to address issues between Muslims and Christians.

Many hope that the pope’s visit can bring peace to a country that has seen violence between Muslims and Christians. Some question if it is safe for him to travel there.

Since 2013 the country has been in chaos¹². A rebel takeover led to bloody¹³ violence between Muslims and Christians.     

The pope is scheduled to visit a mosque¹⁴ in Bangui’s PK5 neighborhood. Many of the city’s mosques¹⁵ were destroyed in violence that started at the end of 2013. It continues to simmer even now.

PK5 is the last place in the capital where Muslims can live. The conflict killed thousands and displaced nearly a million more. Most of the country’s Muslims fled to other countries.

The pope is then scheduled to go home to Rome Monday.

Words in This Story

tolerance – n. willingness to accept feelings, habits, iedeas, or beliefs different from your own

adoring -- adj. to love, and or admire, very much

slum -- n. part of a city where poor people live in bad conditions

indifferent -- adj. not interested in something

injustice -- n. unfair treatment --  the rights of a person or a group of people are ignored

infrastructure -- n. the basic equipment and structures, like roads, needed for a country, and area or organization to function properly

destructive -- adj. causing a very large amount of damage or  harm

female genital mutilation -- n.  the cutting, or partial or total removal, of the external female genitalia for religious, cultural, or other non-medical reasons

catastrophic -- adj. disastrous¹⁶

radicalized -- v. to cause someone to be more radical in religion or politics

chaos -- n. complete confusion and disorder¹⁷

takeover -- n. when a person, people or company takes complete control of something

1 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。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 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。

4 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。

5 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

6 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

9 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

11 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

12 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

13 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

14 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

15 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

16 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

17 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。