VOA慢速英语：教宗弗朗西斯简化解除婚姻程序

Pope Francis has announced measures to reform the Roman Catholic Church's rules for annulling marriages.

教宗弗朗西斯已经宣布采取措施来改革罗马天主教会解除婚姻的规则。

Under the new rules, the annulment process will be faster. Pope Francis says the process should be completed within 45 days.

根据新规则，解除废止婚姻的程序会更快。教宗弗朗西斯表示该程序应在45天内完成。

A Catholic bishop can act on an annulment request if a couple requests one or when neither side opposes it. Another reform removes automatic appeals after the first decision is made. Appeals, however, are still permitted.

如果夫妻双方要求或者夫妻双方都不反对，天主教主教可以批准其解除废止婚姻的请求。另一项改革是在做出第一个决定后，会撤消自动上诉。但仍然允许上诉。

FILE - Pope Francis waves as he leads the Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic palace in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, Aug. 9, 2015.

The announcement comes after years ofcriticism of the annulment process. Critics have long said the process can be complex, costly and often unfair.

该声明是在对解除废止婚姻程序多年的批判基础之上提出。批评者一直表示，解除婚姻的程序太复杂，需要付出昂贵代价并且通常是不公平的。

Critics say the current system is out of reach for many Roman Catholics, especially in poor countries. They note that such countries often lack marriage tribunals -- religious courts with the power to rule on marriage cases. Visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

批评人士表示，目前的程序对许多罗马天主教徒而言是遥不可及的，尤其是在贫穷国家。他们指出这些国家往往缺乏婚姻法庭——宗教法庭拥有权力来裁决婚姻案件。

Roman Catholic teachings do not recognize divorce. The church has long criticized divorced Catholics. It says they have no right to end their marriage and later re-marry outside the church. Such individuals are barred from taking part in communion and other Christian ceremonies.

罗马天主教教义不承认离婚。教会一直批评离婚的天主教徒。它声称，他们没有权力结束他们的婚姻及以后在教堂外再婚。这样的人被禁止参与交流及参加其他基督教仪式。

In the new document, the pope stated that marriage remains anindissoluble union. He also says the new rules are not meant to help end marriages, but to speed up the process so that Catholics can find justice.

在新文件中，教宗指出，婚姻仍然是一个牢不可破的联盟。他还表示，新规则并不意味着帮助结束婚姻，而是要加快解除婚姻的进程，以使天主教徒可以找到正义。

There will be no cost for an annulment, except for the payment of the tribunal personnel.

除了向法庭工作人员支付费用外，解除婚姻将不再需要任何费用。

I'm Jonathan Evans.

我是乔纳森·埃文斯。

Marsha James adapted this story for Learning English based on AP and VOA news reports. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in This Story

annulment – n. the act of cancelling something

divorce – n. the ending of a marriage

indissoluble – adj. impossible to destroy, break up or get rid of