VOA标准英语2013--Despite Troubled Papacy, Benedict’s Resignation May Seal His Legacy

 

Despite Troubled Papacy, Benedict’s Resignation May Seal His Legacy¹

As a place to kick around a soccer ball or just to slow life down a little, the church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio is the place to be on a Sunday morning in the Italian city of L’Aquila.

The church is dedicated² to Celestine V, who became pope in 1294. Although he resigned after just six months, Giuliana Masci says Celestine is a hero to residents.

"For us he was a very great pope, because back then there was lots of corruption³ in the church, and he had the courage to say, 'No,'" says a woman.

This picturesque⁴ town in the shadow of the snowcapped Apennine mountains is still recovering from an earthquake in 2009.

Santa Maria di Collemaggio was devastated⁵, and Benedict came to visit it shortly afterward⁶. He left his pallium - a symbol of papal authority - on Celestine’s tomb.

Celestine himself was imprisoned⁷, but retired⁸ Lieutenant⁹ General Andrea Michele Lusa is confident Benedict will be remembered as a man with "a deep knowledge of the theological aspects of the church, that is to say, a great thinker, but very humble¹⁰ and with no show of superiority."

Celestine’s remains¹¹ have been moved to a lab and his reputation is being re-examined.

When Celestine resigned it was not looked upon favorably. He’s believed to be the cowardly man portrayed¹² at the gates of Hell by the Italian poet Dante. But it’s possible that Benedict’s legacy will be different.

John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter already calls Benedict "one of the great teaching popes.”

"His encyclicals, his speeches on his foreign trips, the three books he’s published as pope... I think those things will be read in graduate seminars and in seminaries and in Catholic circles for centuries," he said.

Some Catholics fault Benedict for the scandals and secularization¹³ that plagued the church during his papacy, and he failed to muster¹⁴ the charisma¹⁵ of his predecessor¹⁶, John Paul II.

"But I think the resignation, the very humble way that he has relinquished¹⁷ power and in some ways the very courageous¹⁸ way that he’s decided¹⁹ to step aside has created some space for people do distinguish between the papacy and the pope. I mean, they may still have some substantive²⁰ issues with the papacy, but I think there’s a tendency to look more generously upon the pope," said Allen.

Castel Gandolfo has always been a place to sit at a café in the shadow of the pope’s summer palace outside Rome. But even more people come now that the pope emeritus²¹ has sequestered²² himself there during the transition.

This boy’s older sister thinks Benedict’s final act will make him a great pope.

"I think he will be remembered for this abdication²³. I think it is very significant," she said.

As the shopkeepers of this resort say "grazie" (thank you!) to Benedict, the spotlight²⁴ remains on a papal resignation that may leave its mark for centuries to come. 

1 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

2 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

5 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

6 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

7 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

10 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 secularization   

n.凡俗化，还俗，把教育从宗教中分离

参考例句：

• But secularization of modernity society made the two prerequisites impossibility. 然而现代社会的世俗化使得这两个前提不复存在。 来自互联网
• So heart will be also inadvertently been secularization of. 以至于心也在不经意间被俗化了。 来自互联网

14 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

15 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

16 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。

17 relinquished   

交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃

参考例句：

• She has relinquished the post to her cousin, Sir Edward. 她把职位让给了表弟爱德华爵士。
• The small dog relinquished his bone to the big dog. 小狗把它的骨头让给那只大狗。

18 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

19 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

20 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

21 emeritus   

adj.名誉退休的

参考例句：

• "Perhaps I can introduce Mr.Lake Kirby,an emeritus professor from Washington University?"请允许我介绍华盛顿大学名誉教授莱克柯尔比先生。
• He will continue as chairman emeritus.他将会继续担任荣誉主席。

22 sequestered   

adj.扣押的；隐退的；幽静的；偏僻的v.使隔绝，使隔离( sequester的过去式和过去分词 )；扣押

参考例句：

• The jury is expected to be sequestered for at least two months. 陪审团渴望被隔离至少两个月。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Everything he owned was sequestered. 他的一切都被扣押了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 abdication   

n.辞职；退位

参考例句：

• The officers took over and forced his abdication in 1947.1947年军官们接管了政权并迫使他退了位。
• Abdication is precluded by the lack of a possible successor.因为没有可能的继承人，让位无法实现。

24 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。