In Amazon, Married Catholics Lead Services, Pray for Priesthood

 

Just before sunrise, Shainkiam Yampik beats a drum at the start of a Roman Catholic prayer service in Wijint, a village in the Peruvian Amazon.

“Jesusan namanguinde,” he says. That means “the body of Christ” in the language of the Achuar people. Yampik gives communion bread to villagers in a small religious center. During the service, they hear the sounds made by birds and insects outside the building.

Yampik is a tribal¹ leader and has 10 grown children. He is also a leading Catholic in a community far from big cities. Wijint is one of the most remote areas served by the Roman Catholic Church.

Yampik is a deacon in the Church. He cannot become a priest, or clergyman, because he is married.

That means he cannot celebrate the Catholic Mass. The villagers may go many months without attending Mass because of the lack of priests. The communion bread he gives is consecrated⁴ by a priest in another town.

October 6 Vatican meeting

Yampik and other Achuar Catholics in the Peruvian Amazon are hopeful a historic meeting at the Vatican next month will change that.

On October 6, Pope Francis will open a three-week meeting of Amazonian bishops⁶. One issue to be discussed is whether to let married men in parts of the Amazon become priests. If approved, the proposal would break hundreds of years of Roman Catholic tradition.

The idea is to let older married men with grown children and a strong standing⁷ in the Church become members of the clergy² and lead Mass.

Wijint is one of 827 native communities in Yurimaguas, an area the size of Panama. It has just 25 priests, the Reverend Jesus Maria Aristin told Reuters.

“It’s impossible to reach them all,” Aristin said. He remembered that a recent visit to a village required a four-day walk through the Amazon.

At least 85% of villages in the area cannot celebrate Mass every week. During the service, Catholics believe communion bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus.

Yampik is one of four married deacons who will be considered for the priesthood at the Vatican meeting, said Aristin.

Big changes

The proposal could be explosive within the Catholic Church. Pope Francis is under attack from conservative Catholics; some have called the idea “heretical.”

The proposal says men can become priests “even if they already have an established…family,” in order to celebrate Mass.

Conservatives say it will lead to the end of the Church’s rule that priests remain celibate⁸. The rule became a requirement around the year 1300 to stop priests from passing Church property to their children.

The Church teaches that by remaining celibate and unmarried, a priest can live only for God and the Church.

But the celibacy⁹ requirement makes it difficult to interest men in becoming priests.

“What’s more important, celibacy or (communion), the center of Christian¹⁰ life?” said Aristin.

Just 40 years ago, the Church’s presence in this part of the Amazon was growing. One reason was the work of an Italian priest, Luis Bolla. He persuaded many Indians in Peru and Ecuador to accept Christianity.

Bolla was unusual. He lived among the Achuar for many years and spoke¹¹ their language. He died in 2013.

Today, it is hard to get outsiders to stay in Achuar villages, noted¹² Yampik.

Achuar is among the last Amazonian tribes to come in contact with non-natives. The natives had a traditional religion. To win converts, Bolla added some of their own customs to Catholic Mass, a tradition Yampik keeps alive today.

That multicultural¹³ method was once not accepted, but today is celebrated¹⁴ by the Church under Pope Francis.

The Achuar have found “the word of God,” Yampik said.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

drum – n. a musical instrument shaped like a container

communion – n. a Christian ceremony in which bread is eaten and wine is drunk as a way of expressing loyalty¹⁵ to Jesus Christ

remote – adj. far from cities or the main population centers

deacon – n. an official in some Christian churches whose rank is just below a priest

consecrate³ – v. to officially make (something, such as a place or building) holy through a special religious ceremony

bishop⁵ – n. an official who is rated higher than a priest in some Christian religions

heretical – adj. someone who believes or teaches something that goes against accepted or official belief

celibate – adj. having or involving no sexual relations

convert – n. someone who has been persuaded to change their religious beliefs

1 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

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 consecrate   

v.使圣化，奉…为神圣；尊崇；奉献

参考例句：

• Consecrate your life to the church.把你的生命奉献给教堂吧。
• The priest promised God he would consecrate his life to helping the poor.牧师对上帝允诺他将献身帮助穷人。

4 consecrated   

adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献

参考例句：

• The church was consecrated in 1853. 这座教堂于1853年祝圣。
• They consecrated a temple to their god. 他们把庙奉献给神。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 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。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 celibate   

adj.独身的，独身主义的；n.独身者

参考例句：

• He had defended the institution of a celibate priesthood.他捍卫了独身牧师制度。
• The instinct of the celibate warned him to hold back.单身汉的本能告诫他回头是岸。

9 celibacy   

n.独身(主义)

参考例句：

• People in some religious orders take a vow of celibacy. 有些宗教修会的人发誓不结婚。
• The concept of celibacy carries connotations of asceticism and religious fervor. 修道者的独身观念含有禁欲与宗教热情之意。

10 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。

11 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。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

14 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

15 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。