VOA慢速英语--Pope Francis: 'We Showed No Care for the Little Ones'

 

Pope Francis released a letter to Roman Catholics around the world Monday condemning¹ sexual abuse by Church officials and efforts to hide it. He demanded responsibility be taken but he did not say how he might punish those involved. He also did not propose a plan to stop such wrongdoing.

Francis asked forgiveness for the suffering of victims. He said all Catholics must be involved in the effort to stop abuse and attempts to hide abuse. He denounced the clergy² culture that has been blamed for the crisis. Church leaders are accused of being more concerned with their self-image than the safety of children.

“With shame and repentance³,” Francis wrote, we admit “we were not where we should have been, that we did not act in a timely manner, realizing the magnitude and the gravity of the damage done to so many lives.”

He added, “We showed no care for the little ones.”

The Vatican released the three-page letter before Francis' trip to Ireland Saturday.

Francis’ letter was a reaction to American and Irish pressure that he takes a strong position on the worldwide abuse crisis. That pressure increased after he traveled to Chile in January. There he dismissed victims' accusations⁴ of abuse as “calumny,” meaning lies to hurt someone’s image.

The pope's trip to Ireland was expected to deal with sex abuse in the Church. However, it became an even bigger issue following reports about one of the pope’s most trusted Church officials in the U.S.

Several people have accused the retired⁵ archbishop of Washington, Theodore McCarrick, of sexually abusing young people and adults in training to enter the clergy.

In addition, a Pennsylvania grand jury last week reported that at least 1,000 children were victims of about 300 clergymen over the past 70 years. The report said generations of high-level church officials repeatedly failed to take measures to protect children or punish suspects.

Also, investigations⁷ into sex abuse continue to grow in Chile. Chilean police have raided Church records to try to learn what it has known about its abusive clergy.

In his letter, which was released in seven languages, Francis spoke⁸ about the Pennsylvania report. But, Church officials said the message was meant for people around the world.

Francis wrote, “No effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up…”

Some supporters of victims said the letter was not enough.

Anne Barrett Doyle is with the research group Bishop⁶ Accountability. On Monday, the group released information on Irish clergy accused or found guilty of sex abuse.

“Mere¹⁰ words at this point deepen the insult and the pain,” she said of the pope’s letter. She also said, Francis should order the release of names of all priests who have been found guilty under Church law of abusing young people.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro praised the pope's letter. He also urged local Church officials to “cease their denials and deflections'' and accept the grand jury terms. Those include changing limits on the amount of time people have to bring a legal case against a person or a group.

I’m Caty Weaver¹¹.

Words in This Story

shame - n. a feeling of guilt⁹, regret, or sadness that you have because you know you have done something wrong?

repentance -? n. the act of feeling or showing you are sorry for something bad or wrong that you did and that you want to do what is right?

magnitude -? n. the size, extent, or importance of something?

gravity - n. a very serious quality or condition: the condition of being grave or serious?

grand jury - n. (U.S. law) a group of people who look at the evidence against someone who has been accused of a crime in order to decide if there should be a trial?

mere -? adj. used to say that something or someone is small, unimportant, etc.

deflection -? n.the act of changing or causing something to change direction

1 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

3 repentance   

n.懊悔

参考例句：

• He shows no repentance for what he has done.他对他的所作所为一点也不懊悔。
• Christ is inviting sinners to repentance.基督正在敦请有罪的人悔悟。

4 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 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。

7 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

8 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。

9 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

10 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

11 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。