美国国家公共电台 NPR A Pennsylvania Priest Responds To Sex Abuse Report

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Across Pennsylvania, Catholic churches are celebrating Mass this weekend for the first time since a devastating¹ report. In that report, the state attorney general detailed² the sexual abuse of minors³ by hundreds of priests. Lucy Perkins of member station WESA in Pittsburgh went to one church to listen to what Catholics there are saying.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

LUCY PERKINS, BYLINE⁴: All the pews in St. Ursula's Parish outside of Pittsburgh were full for Saturday evening Mass. The service itself was nothing out of the ordinary. There was no mention of the grand jury report or the two priests who served at St. Ursula's in the late '80s and early '90s who were in it.

UNIDENTIFIED PARISHIONERS: (Singing) Hallelujah, hallelujah.

PERKINS: But that changed when Father Larry Adams directly addressed the report in his homily to parishioners.

LARRY ADAMS: This is a responsibility that we can't delegate to society. It's a responsibility that we must accept personally as followers⁵ of Christ. The revelations of this past week compel us to recognize the ways in which we failed as Christians⁶.

PERKINS: Father Adams went on to say that the actions of his fellow priests and the church leadership are shameful⁷. His message to his parish was clear and simple. They need to confront the horrific abuse and recognize that the church exposed the most vulnerable people in the community to pain and suffering. But the willingness to confront the allegations was harder to find among his parishioners. After Mass ended, Marsha Mauser said she agreed with Father Adams, but the Catholic Church has a complex, 2,000-year-long history.

MARSHA MAUSER: It's part of life. The church is an organization. Like every other organization, it's going to have its problems. It draws from the world, so it draws the problems of the world.

BOB LANG: I mean, things happen. It happened. It's over. We need to move on.

PERKINS: Bob Lang also attends St. Ursula's and came to Mass with his wife, Gina. She agreed with him and said abuse within the church isn't anything new. So she'd rather not dwell on it.

GINA: I just feel sorry for them, you know?

PERKINS: Sorry for who?

GINA: The priests, you know, because they're all - I mean, it happens in all religions. It's not just the Catholic. And they're bringing the Catholic out. You know, there's other people who are doing it.

PERKINS: Kathy Jacobs said yes, Catholics will move on but without the church.

KATHY JACOBS: I'm not going to leave the church. I'm not going to - I'll still always be a Catholic. But I told them my kids won't - my daughter especially. It's sad. It's really sad. And I think a lot of people are going to leave.

PERKINS: She said she tried to get her son to come with her to church. But he said he just couldn't do it - not yet. Father Adams understands why Catholics are frustrated⁸ to the point that they might leave. But the church's struggle with confronting abuse is why he became a priest.

ADAMS: To a certain extent, I'm kind of a "Spotlight⁹" priest. The movie "Spotlight."

PERKINS: He's talking about the movie based on the Boston Globe investigation¹⁰ that uncovered abuse within the Boston Archdiocese in the early 2000s.

ADAMS: When this broke was kind of the time when I was discerning what my vocation¹¹ would be. And in a certain way, what has formed me is the desire to be part of this church and be part of the solution.

PERKINS: Father Adams will be a part of that solution for the Pittsburgh Diocese but not at St. Ursula's. The church's population in western Pennsylvania was shrinking long before the grand jury report came out. Any sort of healing that Father Adams wants to do will have to begin at one of his new parishes this fall. For NPR News, I'm Lucy Perkins in Pittsburgh.

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

3 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 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。

6 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

7 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

8 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 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。

11 vocation   

n.职业，行业

参考例句：

• She struggled for years to find her true vocation.她多年来苦苦寻找真正适合自己的职业。
• She felt it was her vocation to minister to the sick.她觉得照料病人是她的天职。