新教皇本篤十六世個人檔案

Profile: Pope Benedict XVI

關鍵詞匯：

Cardinal: 樞機（主教）

Orthodox：正教的，東正教派的

Pontiff：教皇

Conclave:教皇的選舉委員會

Mass：彌撒

Denomination：（宗教）教派

Apostasy：變節（宗教）

原文：

Vatican's choice of a new pope delighted traditionalist conservatives. It also dismayed liberals within the Catholic Church. What is known is that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger built a reputation for strictly enforcing Orthodox views. What cannot be known yet is what issues he may confront as Pope Benedict XVI and that is why his first public statements are being studied so closely. In his first papal message, Pope Benedict XVI vowed he will continue efforts to modernize the Catholic Church laid down by the Second Vatican Council. And that he will work to reunify all Christians. The statements were clearly directed at reassuring Catholics that he will not be a polarizing pope. The new pontiff was no outsider going into the conclave. In his role as dean of the College of Cardinals and his prominence as the closest aide to his predecessor, Joseph Ratzinger has dominated the stage since John Paul's death on April 2nd. In his homily at a Mass Monday before the conclave started, Cardinal Ratzinger denounced modern trends undermining Catholicism. Hope you can get a comprehensive understanding to the new lead of world’s 2.1 billion Catholics.

Ratzinger was born in Bavaria 78 years ago, the son of a police chief and a hotel cook. In his memoirs, he wrote that he was enrolled in the Nazi youth movement against his will when he was 14. He was soon let out because of his studies for the priesthood. Two years later, he was drafted into an anti-aircraft unit as a helper. He deserted the army in May 1945. In a recent interview with Vatican Radio, Ratzinger spoke fondly of his parents.

Card. RATZINGER: (Through Translator) I always remember affectionately my parents' kind-heartedness, a kind-heartedness that encompasses the ability to say no. Because a permissive kind-heartedness is not helpful to others.

And for the last 23 years, as head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, once known as the Holy Inquisition, Cardinal Ratzinger earned the label `Mr. No.' He said no to the Latin American movement liberation theology. He said no to married priests. He said no to women priests. He silenced dissident theologians and he upheld the primacy of the Catholic Church branding other Christian denominations as deficient.

In 1995, Ratzinger presented to the media John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium Vitae, the Gospel of Life, which said that abortion and euthanasia are crimes that no human law can claim to legitimize.

Card. RATZINGER: (Through Translator) Laws which contradict fundamental moral rights are not justice. On the contrary, they regular injustice. A state must at least give the right to doctors, health workers and hospital managers to refuse to participate.

One of the new pope's primary areas of concern is likely to be what is called Europe's silent apostasy, the sharp decline in Catholic Church attendance and religious observance. He has insisted that Europe must reclaim its Christian heritage, which he says is the key to the continent survival as a civilization.

翻譯：

梵蒂岡新教皇的人選讓眾多的傳統保守主義者欣喜不已，相反許多天主教的變革者卻很失望。若瑟·拉辛格任主教時嚴格遵守正教主義是為人所知的事實。但是作為教皇本篤十六世，他將面臨哪些問題還是一個謎，這就是為什么他的第一次公開講話被人們如此關注的原因。在作為教皇的第一次講話中，本篤十六世表示他將會繼續貫徹梵蒂岡第二屆大公會議的決定，努力推進基督教的現代化進程。同時會努力使所有的天主教徒重新團結起來。新教皇的講話明顯意在讓天主教徒們放心，他不會成為一名極端化的教皇。這位新的教皇絕對不是一名參加教宗選舉的新面孔。他之前擔任樞機團的負責人且長期作為前任保羅教皇最親近的助手。自從老教皇于四月二日去世以來，他就一直掌管著梵蒂岡的事務。在星期一選舉開始前舉行的彌撒說教時，本篤樞機譴責了當今破壞天主教的種種趨勢。聽了下面的介紹，希望您能對這位全世界21億基督徒新領袖有一個全面的了解。

拉辛格78年前出生在巴伐利亞地區。父親是一名警長，母親是賓館里的廚師。拉辛格在回憶錄中寫到他14歲時被迫加入德國納粹的青年運動，但是不久他就因接受神父培訓而被允許退出。兩年后，他又被征調入防空部隊。1945年他逃離了軍隊的服役。在最近一次接受梵蒂岡電臺的采訪中，他滿懷感情地談到了自己的父母

本篤樞機：我對父母的善良記憶深刻，而這種善良也包含了說“不”的能力。因為略帶縱容性質的善良對他人并沒有太大益處。

在過去的23年中，作為曾任宗教裁判所——梵蒂岡教會教義部主任的拉辛格曾叫“說不”先生。他對拉美解放神學運動說“不”，對已婚的牧師說“不”，對女性牧師說“不”。他壓制在神學理論上有意見不同的人，力挺天主教廷權威并認定其他基督教派存有缺陷。1995年，拉辛格對媒體講述了教皇保羅二世的《生命的福音通諭》，其中寫到墮胎和安樂死是人類法律無法容忍的犯罪。

本篤樞機：如果法律與基本的道德權利相悖，那是不公正的，相反，他們將不公正合法化。一個國家至少要給醫生，醫務工作者和醫院管理層拒絕參與安樂死的權利。

這位新教皇主要關注被稱為“寂靜的歐洲變節事件”，在歐洲參加教堂活動和遵守宗教教義的人數急劇下降。他堅持歐洲必須重申自己的基督教傳統，稱其為歐洲作為一個文明生存下去的關鍵。