Pope Francis to Meet with US, World Catholic Leaders

 

Pope Francis plans to meet with top Roman Catholic officials next year to discuss the growing number of sexual abuse cases involving Catholic clergy¹.

The Vatican said Wednesday the leaders of the national bishops³' conferences would meet with Pope Francis from February 21 to 24. They are expected to talk about clergy sexually abusing children and years of church officials covering up abuse claims against parish priests.

The meeting of more than 100 Roman Catholic officials is believed to be the first of its kind and a recognition that church leaders think the sex abuse scandal is an international problem.

The church is facing abuse scandals in the United States, Chile, Australia and Germany, among other places.

The Vatican announcement came a day before Pope Francis is to meet with U.S. Catholic Church leaders. They are to discuss the church's sexual abuse scandal in the country and the cover-up of years of abuse claims against hundreds of parish priests.

The Vatican said that among those meeting the pope would be the head of the U.S. bishops' conference, Cardinal⁴ Daniel DiNardo, the archbishop of the Galveston-Houston area, and Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley of Boston.

A grand jury investigation⁵ in Pennsylvania recently found that more than 300 priests had abused at least 1,000 young people over a period of 70 years. Similar investigations⁶ are taking place in several other states.

DiNardo said the report shows the pain of those who have been victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy, and by those who protected the abusers and permitted the actions to continue.

Vatican officials said the U.S. Catholic leaders want to discuss the demands of Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the Vatican’s former ambassador to the United States.

Archbishop Vigano has called on Pope Francis to resign because of reports that the pope knew and failed to act on accusations⁷ against Archbishop Theodore McCarrick of Washington.

McCarrick is accused of sexually abusing a teenager in the 1970s and young religious workers. Pope Francis removed McCarrick from his position as a cardinal in July.

DiNardo has said that he wants the pope to approve a full investigation of the McCarrick case, and that reports of a cover-up by the Vatican and the pope himself need to be answered.

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

bishop² – n. an official in some Christian⁸ religions who is ranked higher than a priest and who is usually in charge of church matters in a specific geographical⁹ area

church – n. a building that is used for Christian religious services

parish – n. an area that has its own local church and priest or minister

priest – n. a person who has the authority to lead or perform ceremonies in some religions and especially in some Christian religions

scandal – n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong

cardinal – n. a priest of the Roman Catholic Church who ranks immediately below the Pope

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。