VOA标准英语2012--Vatican Prosecutor Denounces 'Deadly Culture of Silence'

Vatican Prosecutor¹ Denounces 'Deadly Culture of Silence'

It is a scandal that has shaken the faith of Catholics around the world. And on Wednesday, the Vatican’s top sex crimes prosecutor warned bishops² they will be held accountable.
"We have the duty to cooperate with civil authorities in a common fight against crime," Scicluna said.
Monsignor Charles Scicluna told a closed-door, church sponsored symposium³ in Vatican City that bishops can and should be removed from office if they fail to follow church guidelines.
"So there is already provision in canon law, it is a crime in canon law to show malicious⁴ or fraudulent negligence⁵ in the exercise of one's duty," Scicluna said.
Many victims' groups have long been critical of the Catholic Church and its bishops for shielding priests accused of sexually abusing children and have dismissed the symposium as a public relations ploy⁶.
But Marie Collins, the only abuse victim taking part in the symposium, says she is pleased by what she heard.
"The bottom line for me is that children have to be protected. We can't do anything about those like myself, who were abused in the past, but by putting in proper protection for the future, we can save children in the future from being abused," Collins said.
Pope Benedict has expressed shame and sorrow over THE abuse and has called on bishops to come up with guidelines against pedophiles by May of this year.
Earlier this week, the church said it has received more than 4,000 child sex abuse allegations over the past decade.

1 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

2 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。

3 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。

4 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

5 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

6 ploy   

n.花招，手段

参考例句：

• I think this is just a government ploy to deceive the public.我认为这只是政府欺骗公众的手段。
• Christmas should be a time of excitement and wonder,not a cynical marketing ploy.圣诞节应该是兴奋和美妙的时刻，而不该是一种肆无忌惮的营销策略。