評論
打印
Pope Francis has jeopardized his morals
教皇方濟各敗壞了自己的道德
By Christopher J. Hale
文：克里斯托弗·J.黑爾
(Time notes)Hale is a political strategist who helped lead Catholic outreach for President Obama and a co-founder of the Catholic blog Millennial
（本刊注：）黑爾是一位政治戰略家，曾幫助奧巴馬總統領導天主教，同時，他也是天主教博客Millennial網站的聯名創始人
(Christopher J. Hale writes) ON FEB.5, IT CAME TO LIGHT THAT POPE Francis received an eight-page letter in 2015 from a Chilean man, Juan Carlos Cruz,
（克里斯托弗·J.黑爾寫道，）2月5日曝出了教皇方濟各2015年曾收到一封來自智利男子胡安·卡洛斯·克魯茲一封長達8頁的信件一事，
detailing how a priest sexually abused him, and how other priests concealed the crime—
信中詳細說明了某牧師如何性侵他以及其他牧師如何隱瞞了這一罪行-
among them, then Father Juan Barros, a man Francis had just months earlier appointed to be the bishop of Osorno, Chile.
當時的神父胡安·巴羅斯（Juan Barros）也在其中，而教皇方濟各幾個月前才任命其為智利奧索爾諾（Osorno）的主教。
This revelation comes weeks after Francis called accusations against Barros "calumny."
而就在此次爆料幾周前，教皇還稱對巴羅斯的指控都是“誹謗”。
He eventually walked back his claims and sent a Vatican special prosecutor to Chile to investigate the allegations of a cover-up.
教皇最終收回了自己的話，并派了一名梵蒂岡特別檢察官到智利調查性侵被掩蓋一事。
But Francis received the letter by hand from Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, one of the church’s top-ranking officials.
然而，教皇曾當面收到過波士頓紅衣主教肖恩·奧馬利的信，肖恩·奧馬利是該教會的一位高級官員。
That he either did not read the letter or did not act on it
教皇究竟是沒看信還是看了沒反應，
is a stunning development that represents the biggest crisis of Francis’ nearly five-year papacy.
已經成了象征他近五年教皇生涯的最大危機的一個驚人的波瀾。
Francis’ surprise 2013 election came on the heels of a four-minute speech he gave before the conclave in which he decried the church’s vanity:
2013年教皇方濟各的當選實屬意外，他前腳還在當著紅衣主教團的面做了一個長達4分鐘的演講控訴教堂的虛榮，后腳就當選了：
"When the church is selfreferential, inadvertently, she believes she has her own light.
“當教會自我指涉時，不經意間地自我指涉，她就會以為自己本身就散發著光輝。”
Francis called this the "worst evil" that could befall the church, and his ascendance served as a rebuke of that self-regard.
方濟各稱，這將是可能降臨到教會頭上的“最可怕的罪惡”，而他當選后就會充當這種利己思想的一根韁繩。
He was expected to reform the church.
人們原本指望他能給教會帶來變革。
In a great many ways, he has—
從許許多多的方面來看，他的確做到了這一點 -
from a new focus on the environment and poverty to an emphasis on simplicity and sobriety among the clergy.
包括重新關注起環境和貧困問題，以及強調神職人員要樸素要清醒。
But all that progress is for naught if Francis doesn’t finally address the sexual abuse scandal head-on.
然而，如果教皇最終不正面解決神父們的性虐待丑聞，那些功勞都都等于零。
His legacy is at stake—and more important, so is the viability of the Catholic Church itself and its gospel mission.
他的功勞岌岌可危 - 更重要的是，天主教會本身以及它的福音傳播的的生存能力也是如此。
A church that systematically covers up the abuse of children by its ministers is a church without a future.
一個系統地掩蓋其牧師虐待兒童的教會是沒有未來的教會。
In his letter to the Pope, Cruz wrote, "Holy Father, I write you this letter because I’m tired of fighting, of crying and suffering."
在給教皇的信中克魯茲寫道：“圣父，我寫信給你，因為我厭倦了反抗，厭倦了哭泣和痛苦。”
In the Gospel, Jesus tells us God’s worst punishment is reserved for those who would harm children.
在福音書中，耶穌告訴我們，上帝最嚴厲的懲罰是留給那些傷害孩子的人的。
In the Catholic tradition, the Pope is the vicar of Jesus Christ: he acts and ministers in Christ’s name.
在天主教的傳統中，教皇是耶穌基督的牧師：他要以基督的名義行事，以基督的名義傳道。
If that is truly the case, then Francis must end this scandal now.
如果確實如此，教皇就必須馬上結束這個丑聞。
He must apologize to the victims. He must investigate the claims.
向受害者道歉。調查那些指控。
And he must transform the church, as he said he would.
并且像他承諾的那樣改革教會。
