2006年VOA标准英语-Pope Expresses Regret For Statements On Islam

By Sabina Castelfranco
Rome
16 September 2006

The Vatican said Saturday Pope Benedict sincerely regrets that his words offended Muslim sensibilities. The Muslim world reacted angrily to a speech by the pope to academics in Germany in which he referred to holy war and to some teachings of the prophet Mohammed as evil and inhuman¹.

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Pope Benedict XVI, left, accompanied by his brother Georg Ratzinger as he visits St. Oswald church, Sept. 11, 2006  
  
A long statement by the Vatican's new secretary of State Cardinal² Tarcisio Bertone said the pope's intention was to discuss the relationship between religion and violence, and clearly reject the use of violence for religious purposes.

Cardinal Bertone said the pope sincerely regretted if his words had offended Muslim sensibilities. He added that the pope's position on Islam was in line with Vatican teaching that the Church esteems³ Muslims, who adore the one God.

The pope's words on holy war in an address to academics earlier this week in Germany unleashed⁴ the anger of Muslims in different parts of the world, who demanded an apology from the pope.

The pope cited an obscure Medieval text in which a Byzantine emperor described some teachings of Islam's founder⁵ as evil and inhuman. The Vatican says the pope was only trying to emphasize the incompatibility⁶ between faith and violence, and officials have suggested a careful reading of pope's entire text.
 
 
Palestinian security officer holds his weapon as he guards the entrance of the St. Perfidious⁷ Greek Orthodox Church after it was attacked by militants⁸ in Gaza City 
  
It is still unclear whether the words by the Vatican's secretary of state would be sufficient to placate⁹ the anger of Muslims. The Muslim Brotherhood¹⁰ in Egypt reacted immediately saying the statement Saturday did not go far enough and it expected a personal apology.           

German chancellor¹¹ Angela Merkel has come to the pope's defense¹² saying his message had been misunderstood. But Saturday, two churches in the West bank were hit by firebombs and anger in the Muslim world showed no signs of subsiding¹³.

And in India's Kashmiri town of Srinagar, Saturday, hundreds of Muslim women also demonstrated against the pope. They chanted "down with the pope" and "long live Islam."

Despite this, Turkish government officials said Saturday they would not ask Benedict to cancel a planned visit in November, in what would be his first papal trip to a Muslim country.

1 inhuman   

adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的

参考例句：

• We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
• It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。

2 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

3 esteems   

n.尊敬，好评( esteem的名词复数 )v.尊敬( esteem的第三人称单数 )；敬重；认为；以为

参考例句：

• No one esteems your father more than I do. 没有人比我更敬重你的父亲了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Fourth, esteems and the attention specially to the Marxism theory absorption. 第四，特别推崇和关注对马克思主义学说的吸收。 来自互联网

4 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 incompatibility   

n.不兼容

参考例句：

• One cause may be an Rh incompatibility causing kernicterus in the newborn. 一个原因可能是Rh因子不相配引起新生儿的脑核性黄疸。
• Sexual incompatibility is wide-spread in the apple. 性的不亲合性在苹果中很普遍。

7 perfidious   

adj.不忠的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• Their feet will trample on the dead bodies of their perfidious aggressors.他们将从背信弃义的侵略者的尸体上踏过。
• Your perfidious gossip is malicious and dangerous.你说的那些背信弃义的话是很刻毒险恶的。

8 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

9 placate   

v.抚慰，平息(愤怒)

参考例句：

• He never attempts to placate his enemy.他从不企图与敌人和解。
• Even a written apology failed to placate the indignant hostess.甚至一纸书面道歉都没能安抚这个怒气冲冲的女主人。

10 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

11 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 subsiding   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的现在分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• The flooded river was subsiding rapidly. 泛滥的河水正在迅速退落。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gradually the tension was subsiding, gradually the governor was relenting. 风潮渐渐地平息了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）