2006年VOA标准英语-Election of Female Leader Highlights Liberal, C

VOA News
23 June 2006
 
Watch Bishop¹ Report
 
 
Katharine Jefferts Schori 
  
At a national meeting in Ohio earlier this week (June 18), the Episcopal Church, the U.S. arm of the worldwide Anglican Communion, elected its first female presiding bishop. The choice highlights a worldwide disagreement between liberal and conservative Anglicans over the roles of women and gays as priests and leaders -- a conflict that extends into some other denominations².

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Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of Nevada, a licensed³ pilot and former oceanographer ordained⁴ only 12 years ago, became the first woman chosen to lead a branch of the Anglican Communion. Although the American church has been ordaining⁵ women since 1976, Bishop Jefferts Schori's appointment as leader is controversial.

She called it a sign that centuries of male-only leadership of her church is ending. "I think my election to this position shows that the bishops⁶ of this church are able to make decisions without regard to the gender⁷ of the person being considered, which is what we're all hoping for, across the board," she told reporters after her election.

Robert Duncan  
  
Some conservative Episcopalians, however, including Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, think the Episcopal Church is wrong to reject tradition. He said of Bishop Jefferts Schori's elevation⁸, "It breaks my heart. I was born into this church, and what this church has done is to embrace a revolutionary agenda rather than a part of mainstream⁹ Christianity."

Only two other branches within the Anglican Communion – New Zealand and Canada – allow female bishops to serve officially. And there's concern among both liberals and conservatives that issues of women's rights and homosexuality could split the church.
 
 
Peter Adebiyi 
  
Worldwide, the great majority of Anglican churches are conservative. Africans represent half of the world's 77 million Anglicans, and their leaders, such as Archbishop of Lagos Peter Adebiyi, have strongly criticized the U.S. Episcopal church for ordaining gay priests and bishops. When the American church chose a gay man, V. Gene¹⁰ Robinson, as bishop of New Hampshire several years ago, Bishop Adebiyi said that asking Africans to accept gay priests was tantamount to "introducing a new religion into this part of the world, and we do not succumb¹¹ to or accept social religion."

American church leaders appear to be listening to the conservative critics. Following her election as leader, Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori joined in a successful vote to ask American Episcopal bishops and dioceses not to support future elections of openly gay bishops. The measure was a compromise, not an outright¹² ban on gay bishops. But no one expects it to end either conservative criticism or calls from liberals for equality for women and gays. 

 
Joan Clark Hauk
  
The struggle is not confined to Anglicans. Those who oppose female clergy¹³, for example, often cite the tradition of male priesthood in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. But Joan Clark Hauk, a grandmother from Pennsylvania, says she and seven other women will be ordained as Catholic priests in late July. Clark Hauk says the Catholic Church is wrong to exclude women from the priesthood. "I am asking the church to stop the sin of discriminating¹⁴ against women and blaming it on God," she said.

Episcopalian Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori, meanwhile, is confident in her ability to persuade her fellow congregants that female leadership is a sign of progress. "I've discovered that once you build relationships, almost anyone will talk to you," she says.

She also believes she can further win new converts to the U.S. Episcopal Church, whose membership has been declining for years. Bishop Jefferts Schori, who is married and the mother of one, will be formally installed in her nine-year term as Episcopal Church leader in November

1 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。

2 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

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。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

4 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句

5 ordaining   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的现在分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

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 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

8 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

9 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

10 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

11 succumb   

v.屈服，屈从；死

参考例句：

• They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
• Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗？

12 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

13 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。

14 discriminating   

a.有辨别能力的

参考例句：

• Due caution should be exercised in discriminating between the two. 在区别这两者时应该相当谨慎。
• Many businesses are accused of discriminating against women. 许多企业被控有歧视妇女的做法。