VOA常速英语2008年-Pope Benedict XVI Arrives in US

By Meredith Buel
Washington
15 April 2008

Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in the United States for his first visit since he was elected as the head of the Roman Catholic Church nearly three years ago.  On the flight from Rome, the pontiff said he is "deeply ashamed" of the sex abuse scandal that has stained the Catholic Church in America.  VOA correspondent Meredith Buel reports from Washington.

Pope Benedict arrived at Andrews Air Force base outside Washington having directly addressed one of the toughest issues facing him during his first papal visit to the United States.

On the flight from Rome, Benedict said the scandal involving sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests has caused great suffering for the church in America and for him personally.

The pope says he is deeply ashamed by the scandal and that pedophiles will be banned from ministry¹.

The church has paid at least $2 billion to victims of abuse and hundreds of priests have been removed.

Monsignor Kevin Irwin, the dean of the School of Theology at Catholic University, says it will take a long time for wounds to heal.

"No one can solve that crisis," he said.  "It is going to be a lot of time and a lot of wounds and a lot of prayer and a lot of mortification².  In once sense this crisis has brought the church back to its origins.  We have to be a humble³, pilgrim church."

President and Mrs. Bush along with their daughter Jenna made the unusual gesture of greeting Pope Benedict at the Air Force base, the first time the president has welcomed a foreign leader there.

While the pope and Mr. Bush differ on such issues as the Iraq war and the death penalty, they do find common ground in opposing abortion⁴ and gay marriage.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino.

"President Bush is very excited to have the Holy Father here," she said.  "One of the reasons he is so excited is because he has established a bond with him and they have a lot - they share a lot of common values."

The formal greeting for the German-born pope will come Wednesday when thousands of people are expected to welcome him at the White House.

During his six-day visit the pope is scheduled to celebrate mass at large baseball stadiums, address the United Nations, meet leaders from other religions and pray at the site in New York of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

James Brennan is the provost of Catholic University.

"I think he will also bring to all Americans a very positive message of hope and love, which is the essential message of Jesus Christ," he said.

During his trip to the United States Pope Benedict will mark two personal milestones⁵.  His 81st birthday is Wednesday and Saturday will mark the third anniversary of his election as pontiff.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 mortification   

n.耻辱，屈辱

参考例句：

• To my mortification, my manuscript was rejected. 使我感到失面子的是：我的稿件被退了回来。
• The chairman tried to disguise his mortification. 主席试图掩饰自己的窘迫。

3 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

4 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

5 milestones   

n.重要事件( milestone的名词复数 )；重要阶段；转折点；里程碑

参考例句：

• Several important milestones in foreign policy have been passed by this Congress and they can be chalked up as major accomplishments. 这次代表大会通过了对外政策中几起划时代的事件，并且它们可作为主要成就记录下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dale: I really envy your milestones over the last few years, Don. 我真的很羡慕你在过去几年中所建立的丰功伟绩。 来自互联网