环球英语 — 259：Religious Leaders and HIV

　　Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby² Jones Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
December the first is World AIDS Day. Every year, the Day has a special subject, a theme. For 2008, the theme is leadership. In today’s Spotlight we look at a particular kind of leader. This leader is not a doctor, not a health worker, and not a government official. And yet he or she can play a big part in the struggle against HIV and AIDS. In our programme today, we look at the important work of... the religious leader.
Voice 2
In many communities, a religious leader has great influence. He (or she) has authority. That authority can influence the way communities treat people who have the HIV virus or the AIDS disease. That authority can influence efforts to prevent the spread of the virus in their communities.
Voice 1
Pastor³ Maxwell Kapachawo is a church minister in Zimbabwe. He became sick in 2001. He did not believe that his sickness was connected to HIV. But in 2004, he discovered that it was. He was HIV positive. He said,
Voice 3
‘It seemed like the end for me. I wanted to die fast before my community knew about it’
Voice 1
Pastor Maxwell stopped leading his church. But then he spoke⁴ to a friend, another church minister. His friend told him that having HIV did not make him a bad person. He told Maxwell that he should begin to serve God again. Maxwell attended a conference for religious leaders with HIV. And soon after this, he decided⁵ to go back to church. He decided to tell his church that he was HIV positive. Pastor Maxwell remembers:
Voice 3
‘Three weeks after I told them, about half the church people had gone for HIV tests. They were happy to have the tests because they had seen life in me.’
Voice 2
Pastor Maxwell knows that church leaders can act positively⁶ and negatively towards people with HIV. He says it is tragic⁷ when a religious leader rejects someone because they have HIV. He says,
Voice 3
‘Religious leaders need to be better informed. They need training about how to help people with HIV. Then, they would be able to act in a more understanding and supportive way.'
Voice 2
Pastor Maxwell is part of an organisation⁸ that encourages people to speak openly about HIV and AIDS. Its members are all religious leaders. And they are all personally affected⁹ by HIV. They either have the virus themselves, or they know someone with it. The organisation helps its members to see their situation positively. It helps them see how they can lead and guide other people. The organisation began as a movement in Africa. But today it is an international organisation. It is called INERELA+.
INERELA+ includes leaders from many faiths. The current head of INERELA+ is James Matarazzo. He told Spotlight,
Voice 4
"Our beginning was Christian¹⁰, but now we are multi-faith... Everyone respects each other's traditions... We have Moslem¹¹ leaders, Jewish leaders, Hindus, Buddhist¹² monks¹³... "
Voice 2
INERELA+'s members do not all share the same beliefs about religion. But they all see the value of working together to fight HIV/AIDS. They encourage one another, across the divides of different faiths. Then, they use their experience to help their own communities. They have learned to talk about HIV in their own lives. And this encourages the people they lead to talk about it too. It also encourages people at risk to have an HIV test. It is all about facing a problem, not burying it.
James Matarazzo said:
Voice 4
"INERELA+ helps give leaders the power to bring hope and change to their communities... Hearts and minds are changed when religious leaders are involved."
Voice 1
Bishop¹⁴ Mark Hanson is an international church leader. He is a good example of a religious leader creating positive change for people living with HIV. In August 2008, Bishop Hanson spoke at the International AIDS conference in Mexico. His words were powerful. But his actions spoke even louder.
Voice 2
Before Bishop Hanson spoke a young woman called Sophie had given a speech. Sophie and Herland, her friend, then stayed to listen to the Bishop. Both women are HIV positive. Bishop Hanson said,
Voice 5
‘I heard Sophie’s powerful story. As a global religious leader, there is really only one right way I can begin. I would like to ask Herland and Sophie to come and join me up here. Then, I will perform an act to apologise. I will do this in the name of all religious leaders. I will wash their feet.’
Voice 2
The two young women sat with their heads in their hands, facing down. Slowly, the bishop bent¹⁵ down on his knees - at their feet. Gently he lifted Sophie’s feet. He washed them with his hands. Then, he kissed her head. The bishop moved to Herland. He lifted her feet also, one at a time. And he washed them with his hands. As he did this, the women began to cry. He then moved back to speak:
Voice 5
‘I am sure of this: We religious leaders have shamed people with HIV and AIDS. And so we must first begin by performing public acts of apology - repentance¹⁶. I fear our words alone will not be trusted. Jesus on the night before his death washed his followers¹⁷’ feet. He told them to do the same for other people. He said it would help his future followers to remember we are servant people. I believe that Sophie, and others of you, have called us religious leaders to perform public acts. These are not just acts of repentance. They are other public acts - being willing to be tested, welcoming people with HIV into our religious communities. In Jesus’ day religious leaders created barriers. These made society reject particular people: the ‘unclean’, the sick. But Jesus said, “I will sit with you. I will listen. And I will welcome.” Today Sophie and Herland have become Christ to us.’
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

4 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。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

7 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

8 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

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 Moslem   

n.回教徒，穆罕默德信徒；adj.回教徒的，回教的

参考例句：

• Moslem women used to veil their faces before going into public.信回教的妇女出门之前往往用面纱把脸遮起来。
• If possible every Moslem must make the pilgrimage to Mecca once in his life.如有可能，每个回教徒一生中必须去麦加朝觐一次。

12 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

13 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

16 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。

17 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。