VOA标准英语2009年-Catholic Church Welcomes Anglicans

By Steve Norman
25 October 2009

 
Pope Benedict XVI
 
Pope Benedict XVI has unveiled a new Roman Catholic Church initiative which will let Anglicans, often known as Episcopalians in the United States, practice Catholicism while keeping many of their Anglican-style prayers and rituals.In 1982, Pope Benedict's predecessor¹, Pope John Paul II, opened the door to Anglicans allowing priests and bishops² to become Catholics on a case-by-case basis.

Pope Benedict's new pastoral provisions will let whole groups of Anglicans to enter the Roman Catholic Church all at once.Until now, the only case of an entire Anglican diocese becoming Catholic was that of Amritsar, in the Indian region of Punjab. That occured in 1975.

In an unprecedented³ move, 12 nuns⁵ in Catonsville, Maryland, recently left the Episcopal Church to become Catholics. The members of the All Saints Sisters of the Poor, which came to the area in 1872, vowed⁶ to continue their lifestyle of poverty and chastity as a new religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. The superior of the order, Mother Christina Christie, who became a nun⁴ in 1966, said the group knew it was drifting away from the more liberal Episcopal Church and the Catholic Church offered a better fit with their beliefs.

In his Internet blog for the National Catholic Register, Tim Drake, criticized the secular⁷ media for using "unsavory terms" to describe Pope Benedict's welcoming of Anglicans.He wrote on October 22, 2009, that some media had described "the (Catholic) Church as 'poaching' and conducting a 'hostile takeover'." Drake also wrote: "While the media would like to see the Church as predator⁸ and the Anglicans as prey⁹, there's nothing of the sort here.In fact, the move, which has taken years to happen, occured only because such a large number of Anglicans petitioned the Vatican to find a way to make it happen." 
The Vatican
 

Pope Benedict's decision was announced in a joint¹⁰ statement by the Catholic Archbishop of England, Vincent Nichols, and the head of the (Anglican) Church of England, Archbishop Rowan Williams.The statement said: "The announcement of this Apostolic Constitution brings to an end a period of uncertainty¹¹ for such groups (of Anglicans) who have nurtured¹² hopes of new ways of embracing unity¹³ with the Catholic Church."

Longtime Vatican reporter and theologian, Sandro Magister, wrote on his Internet blog: "This kind of harmony makes one think how close reconciliation¹⁴ would be today between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, if only the latter had not allowed the ordination¹⁵ of women and practicing homosexuals to the priesthood and the episcopate, with the ensuing dramatic divisions between those who agree and those who do not.”

Conservatives say they have become disaffected¹⁶ from the Anglican Church because of these kinds of practices which are officially opposed by the Catholic Church.

1 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

2 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。

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 nun   

n.修女，尼姑

参考例句：

• I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
• She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。

5 nuns   

n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ah Q had always had the greatest contempt for such people as little nuns. 小尼姑之流是阿Q本来视如草芥的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Nuns are under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. 修女须立誓保持清贫、贞洁、顺从。 来自辞典例句

6 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

7 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

8 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

9 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

12 nurtured   

养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• She is looking fondly at the plants he had nurtured. 她深情地看着他培育的植物。
• Any latter-day Einstein would still be spotted and nurtured. 任何一个未来的爱因斯坦都会被发现并受到培养。

13 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

14 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

15 ordination   

n.授任圣职

参考例句：

• His ordination gives him the right to conduct a marriage or a funeral.他的晋升圣职使他有权主持婚礼或葬礼。
• The vatican said the ordination places the city's catholics in a "very delicate and difficult decision."教廷说，这个任命使得这个城市的天主教徒不得不做出“非常棘手和困难的决定”。

16 disaffected   

adj.（政治上）不满的，叛离的

参考例句：

• He attracts disaffected voters.他吸引了心怀不满的选民们。
• Environmental issues provided a rallying point for people disaffected with the government.环境问题把对政府不满的人们凝聚了起来。