VOA慢速英语--教皇弗兰西斯会见俄罗斯领袖

AS IT IS 2016-02-13 Pope Francis Meets with Leader of Russian Orthodox Church 教皇弗兰西斯会见俄罗斯领袖

Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church have met for the first time in history.

Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sat down together Friday in the Cuban capital, Havana. The meeting is part of an effort to heal a 1,000-year-old dispute between the two churches. That is when Eastern and Western Christianity divided.

Cuban President Raul Castro and Cardinal¹ Jaime Ortega, the Vatican's highest representative in Cuba, met Francis as he arrived at the airport. Then, the pope and patriarch greeted each other with hugs and kisses. A short time later, they held a two-hour “personal” discussion.

They were expected to unite in an appeal for an end to killing² and other violence against Christians³ in the Middle East.

Officials of both churches announced the meeting between the two religious leaders a week ago. But it had been planned for two years in secret. Kirill arrived in Cuba Thursday for an official visit. Francis stopped there on his way to a five-day visit to Mexico. 

Pope Francis was influential⁴ in Cuba’s decision to re-establish ties with the United States. Now, he is seeking to repair a much longer break in relations.

Eastern Orthodoxy split with Rome in 1054. Today, the Russian church has about 165 million of the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians. The Roman Catholic Church has more than one billion followers⁵.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has supported the Russian Orthodox Church. In exchange, the church has supported Putin’s foreign policy, including positions on Ukraine and the Middle East.

Putin has also improved Russian relations with Cuba, which were damaged following the collapse⁶ of the Soviet⁷ Union in 1991.

Words in This Story

heal - v. to make (someone or something) healthy or well again

influential - adj. having the power to cause changes 

collapse - n. a situation or occurrence in which something (such as a system or organization) suddenly fails

1 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。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 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。

4 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

5 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。