VOA标准英语2008年-France Prepares for Visit by Pope Benedict

Pope Benedict XVI arrives Friday in Paris on a four-day trip that will also include a visit to the southwestern French town of Lourdes. From the French capital, Lisa Bryant reports for VOA.
　
Pilgrims at Lourdes shrine¹ before Pope Benedict's visit, 11 Sept 2008

Pope Benedict will deliver a key address in Paris and meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy before heading to Lourdes, which is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the apparition² of the Virgin³ Mary to a shepherd girl.

This is Benedict's first visit to France as pontiff, and he follows his far more charismatic predecessor⁴ John Paul II, who visited Lourdes twice.

In a video released on the Internet by the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict addressed his greetings to the French before his arrival and said he was sending a message of peace and fraternity to France.

Bishop⁵ Antoine Herouard, general secretary of the French council of bishops⁶, said he hoped the pope would shore up the convictions of Catholics here. "What we are expecting is first for him to give some help and boost to the faith of Catholic people here in France and let them be stronger in their faith and hope, and to be able to give their own testimony⁷ of faith and Christian⁸ life," he said.

While the majority of French are born into Roman Catholic families, only about 50 percent of French consider themselves Catholic - and only about a quarter of them are observant, public-opinion surveys show.

But 53 percent of French had positive views of the pope's visit, according to a survey published in Le Parisien newspaper. Among Catholics 65 percent responded positively⁹.

In interviews in busy downtown Paris, many French said they were uninterested in the pope's visit. That includes 19-year-old restaurant worker, Gael Michel. He said he was completely indifferent to Pope Benedict's passage in France. He is just a person, Michel said, like everyone else.

Same answer from Amelie Jadot, visiting Paris from her native Brittany. Although she comes from a Catholic family, she says she does not believe in religion. She thinks Pope Benedict's visit is primarily for political ends - not religious ones.

An associate director at the IFOP polling agency in Paris, Jerome Fourquet, said the de-Christianization of France is reflected elsewhere in Europe.

Fourquet said the fall in belief and observance here has been especially steep since the 1960s, and even Pope John Paul II was not able to reverse the decline. He says France also has a tradition of sharply separating church and state.

But Fourquet said, the Catholic church is trying to tap into new trends, with its world youth days and by stressing pilgrimages - such as that to Lourdes - which remain very popular in Europe.

The pope may get an unexpected boost from President Sarkozy, a lapsed¹⁰ Catholic who is twice divorced. During a visit to the Vatican last year, Mr. Sarkozy said that upholding France's Christian roots did not contradict its secular¹¹ creed¹².

 

1 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

2 apparition   

n.幽灵，神奇的现象

参考例句：

• He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。
• But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。

3 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

4 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。

5 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。

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 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

8 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。

9 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。

10 lapsed   

adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。
• He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。