教皇方济各为何深得人心
教皇方济各为何深得人心
In the modern era, Europe has never had fewer practicing Christians. The United States, according to a Pew survey released this week, is trending in the same direction, led by millennials wary of pontifical certainty.
在现代世界，欧洲保持宗教习惯的天主教徒从来没有像现在这么少。在美国，皮尤(Pew)本周发布的调研显示，美国也在走向同一个方向，原因是新千年一代对于笃定的宗教信念已经厌倦了。
So why is Pope Francis smiling? For that matter, how did a 78-year-old man with only one working lung become perhaps the most radiant, powerful and humane figure on the global stage? It’s a paradox, but as much of the world has become less identified with organized religion, the leader of the most organized of religions is more popular than ever.
那么为什么教皇方济各(Pope Francis)还能笑出来?或者说，这个已经78岁、只有一个肺的人，是怎样成为全球舞台上最引人注目、最有权势，也最有人情味的人的?这是一个悖论：尽管全世界越来越不认同宗教组织，但作为组织最严密的宗教的领袖，教皇却比以往任何时候都更受欢迎。
Whether he’s cleaning the feet of the homeless, dialing up strangers for late-night chats or convincing a self-described atheist like Raúl Castro to give a second look at the Catholic church, the pope who took the name of a nature-loving pauper is a transformative gust.
无论是为无家可归者洗脚，深夜拨通陌生人的电话与他聊天，还是说服自称无神论者的劳尔·卡斯特罗(Raúl Castro)对天主教再做思索，这位以热爱自然的贫穷圣人名字为名的教皇是一场转变潮流的飓风。
In advance of his visit to the United States later this year, Francis has a chance to move hearts and minds on a couple of intractable issues. He’s called out climate change skeptics and will soon unveil a major encyclical on the environment. Think about that: The church that put Galileo under house arrest for promoting sound science is now challenging the science deniers in power.
在今年晚些时候访问美国之前，方济各还有机会在一些棘手的议题上赢得民众的心。他与怀疑气候变化的人正面交锋，并将很快发布一份关于环境的重要通谕。想想看：那个因为伽利略(Galileo)宣扬确凿的科学观点而将其软禁的教会，如今正在挑战否认科学的当权者。
This puts him directly at odds with the Republican leadership, and the Koch brothers, who have funded a group that recently accused Pope Francis of “being misled by ‘experts’ at the United Nations.” Speaker John A. Boehner may find that he’s getting more than he bargained for, inviting the pope to become the first pontiff to speak before a joint session of Congress in September.
这让他与共和党领导层，以及科赫(Koch)兄弟直接产生了矛盾，科赫兄弟资助的一个团体最近指责方济各“被联合国的‘专家’误导了”。众议院议长约翰·A·博纳(John A. Boehner)或许会发现，他邀请方济各今年9月在国会联席会议上发言之举，会产生意想不到的后果。届时，方济各将成为首位这样做的教皇。
Francis’s predecessor, while a cardinal, once signed a letter saying homosexuality was “an objective disorder.” This pope would rather focus on the millions of poor clinging to a thin lifeline than talk about people’s sex lives. He speaks truth to power on Armenian genocide, on a Palestinian state, on the Islamic nihilists who behead people of other faiths.
方济各的前任在担任枢机主教的时候，曾在一份签名信件中称同性恋是“客观的病态”。相较而言，本届教皇宁愿关注挣扎在生命线上的数百万穷人，而不是人们的性生活。他在当权者面前，就亚美尼亚种族灭绝、巴勒斯坦建国、斩首不同信仰者的伊斯兰虚无主义者等议题讲出了真相。
But for all of that, something else explains why the world is so enamored of this pope. Long after we’ve forgotten what his position is on Catholic doctrine, we will remember the serenity of Pope Francis — his self-deprecating lightness of being.
尽管有诸多因素，但另外一件事却可以解释这个世界为什么如此迷恋这位教皇。我们忘记他在天主教教义上的立场许久之后，还会记得方济各教皇的安详和他平易近人的态度。
His smile is just shy of goofy; it’s embracing, certainly not the tight facial clench of the seasoned diplomat. Rather than hide behind the trappings of power and empire, he projects a sense that he’s an average man who’s in on the joke. He’s the leader of 1.2 billion Catholics. Anything he says is parsed and taken apart for larger meaning. And yet, he shrugs and laughs, the body language behind the most memorable line uttered by a pope in our time: “Who am I to judge?”
他的笑几乎称得上憨厚。这让人感到亲近，而老练的外交官们脸上紧绷的表情则不然。他没有躲藏在权力和帝国等外物的背后，而是展示出了一种普通人的气质，并且喜欢开玩笑。他领导着12亿天主教徒。他说的每一句话都会被解读、分析，以查看是否包含更大的意义。然而，他时而耸耸肩，时而开口大笑，这些肢体语言让我们想起，这个时代的教皇讲出的最令人难忘的话是：“我有什么资格去进行指摘?”
Just after he was named pope, in a gathering of the Vatican elite who had selected him, he looked at the thicket of clerical power and said, “May God forgive you for what you’ve done.” He smiled. They laughed. In March 2013, humor took up residence in the corridors of St. Peter’s Square, and has never left.
就在他被提名教皇之后，在选出他的梵蒂冈高层举行的一次会议上，他思索着这个神职所带来的棘手权力，微笑着说，“愿上帝宽恕你们做出的决定。”当时，众人捧腹大笑。2013年3月，幽默就在圣彼得广场站稳了脚跟，之后再也没有离开。
Shortly thereafter, a longtime acquaintance told Francis he hardly recognized the Jesuit known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio. What happened? The pope said that he was, indeed, a changed man, as John L. Allen recounts in his new book, “The Francis Miracle.” The pope said he was filled with “interior freedom and peace, and that sense has never left me.”
不久之后，一位与方济各相识已久的人说，他简直认不出那个叫做豪尔赫·马里奥·伯格里奧(Jorge Mario Bergoglio)的耶稣会士了。到底发生了什么?教皇说他的确变了一个人，约翰·L·艾伦(John L. Allen)在他的新书《方济各奇迹》(The Francis Miracle)中这样写道。教皇说他心中充满了“内在的自由与平和，这种感觉再也没有消失”。
The surprise phone calls continue. He’s pope, he can call anyone he wants. Putin on Line 1. Obama on Line 2. Jay Z on hold. But a few weeks ago, he dialed up an Italian man, Franco Rabuffi, who was suffering from an illness. Rabuffi didn’t believe it was the pope and hung up. The pope called a second time, and again Rabuffi hung up. On the third time, they connected.
突然给人打电话的做法仍在继续。他是教皇，他想给谁打电话都可以，普京在1号线，奥巴马在2号线，让Jay Z先等等。然而就在几周前，他拨通了身患疾病的意大利男子弗朗科·拉布斐(Franco Rabuffi)的电话。拉布斐不相信那是教皇，就把电话挂了。教皇又拨了一次，拉布斐又挂了。第三次，他们得以交谈。
“I was speechless,” Rabuffi told the Vatican newspaper, “but Francis came to my rescue, saying what happened was funny.”
“我都说不出话来了，”拉布斐对梵蒂冈一家报纸说。“但是方济各挽救了我，他说发生的事情很有趣。”
In March, the pope visited Naples, a wonderful city, its ancient warrens torn apart by mafia corruption and poverty. He challenged the violent Camorra, calling for an end to “the tears of the mothers of Naples.” In words that only a former bouncer could use, Papa Francesco said, “Corrupt society stinks.”
3月，教皇访问那不勒斯，这座美丽的城市里满是古旧的巷陌，然而现在它却被贫困和横行的黑帮撕裂了。他直面凶残的黑帮克莫拉(Camorra)，呼吁不要再让“那不勒斯的母亲流泪”。方济各教皇用只有前酒吧保安才会用的词语说道，“堕落的社会臭气熏天”。
Last year, he was asked about his secret to happiness. He said slow down. Take time off. Live and let live. Don’t proselytize. Work for peace. Work at a job that offers basic human dignity. Don’t hold on to negative feelings. Move calmly through life. Enjoy art, books and playfulness.
去年，有人问他幸福的秘诀是什么。他回答道，慢下来、花些时间在工作以外的事情上。享受生活，宽以待人。不要说教。努力促进和平，从事的工作要能给人基本的尊严。不要执拗于负面的情绪。平和地度过人生。享受艺术、书籍，也要享有童心。
