VOA慢速英语：教皇能使西班牙裔教徒留在天主教吗？

The Spanish-language service at the Roman Catholic Saint Elizabeth church in New York City attracts a crowd, even midweek.

在纽约，罗马天主教圣伊丽莎白教堂所提供的西班牙语服务吸引大批人群，一直持续到周三。

Many of the church's members are new immigrants from majority Catholic countries in Latin America.

教会的许多成员是新移民，来自拉丁美洲天主教徒占多数的国家。

A recent study found that almost 90 percent of Hispanic Americans have a favorable opinion of Pope Francis. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church will visit the city this week.

最近一项研究发现，几乎90％的拉美裔美国人赞同教皇弗朗西斯的观点。罗马天主教会的领袖将于本周访问该城市。

Pope Francis reaches from the popemobile for a child that is brought to him, during a parade in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

​Sister Celia Cid says Pope Francis, a son of immigrants, understands the needs of Hispanic Americans.

修女西莉亚熙说，教皇弗朗西斯，为移民之子，了解拉美裔美国人的需求。

"He identifies with the struggles on many different nationalities, different countries and what they are going through," she said. "It's a great hope for me to have him come because this city is a melting pot. It is a city built on immigrants."

“他认同那些在许多不同民族、不同国家挣扎的人们以及他们正在经历的事情。”她说。“对我而言，他的到来将是一个伟大的希望，因为这座城市是一个大熔炉，是由移民组成的一个城市。”

But almost 25 percent of Hispanic Americans are now former Catholics. Some leave for evangelical and Pentecostal churches. Others just slowly withdraw from the Catholic Church.

但是，现在，几乎25％的拉美裔美国人为前天主教徒。一些人离开天主教来到福音派和五旬节派教会。其他人也只是逐渐地退出天主教会。

Father Ambiorix Rodriguez is an immigrant from the Dominican Republic. He was raised in Manhattan where he is now a priest. Father Rodriguez told VOA that Pope Francis has an answer. He said the Pope advises Catholic spiritual leaders to go out and connect with people outside of the church building.

神父，Ambiorix Rodriguez，是来自多明尼加共和国的移民。他在曼哈顿长大，现在他是那儿的一名牧师。神父罗德里格斯对美国之音说，教皇弗朗西斯对此有自己的说法。他说教皇建议天主教精神领袖出去与教堂建筑外的人进行联系。

"He is telling the church we can no longer stay inside, self-enclosed, worrying about who we have, who is here, but no, the church needs to go out," Father Rodriguez said.

“他告诉教会，我们不能再待在里面、自我封闭、担心我们拥有谁？谁会在这儿？而是教会需要走出去。”神父罗德里格斯说。

Young adults make up the largest group of Hispanics leaving Catholicism. Today, many people under the age of 30 describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated.

青少年弥补了大批离开天主教的拉美裔人。如今，30岁以下的很多人将自己描述为无教派人士。

​Alias is a young Catholic Church member who is invigorated by the Pope's openness.

Alias是一个年轻的天主教会成员，受到教皇思想开通的影响而变得精神饱满。

He said, "If the Catholics who have drifted are based on ‘Oh, you don't understand me,' or 'It's too complicated,' or 'I'm tired of traditional habits,' the Pope is actually saying, ‘You know what? I am moving forward.'" Visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

他说：“如果天主教徒基于“哦，你不理解我，‘或’这太复杂了，‘或者’我已经厌倦了传统习惯进行漂泊，‘教皇实际上是在表达，你知道吗？我正在前进。’”

Alias also said the pope's use of social media to connect with the next generation is one way he is keeping young people invested and interested. Pope Francis is the most-followed world leader on Twitter, a popular social-media site. His user name is @Pontifex.

Alias还表示，教皇使用社交媒体与下一代人进行联系是他让青年人加入并对此感兴趣的一种方式。教皇弗朗西斯是在Twitter上国内关注人数最多的世界领袖，Twitter是一个流行的社交媒体网站。他的用户名是@Pontifex。

"The youth are the future people of tomorrow. They are ones who are going to keep this church alive," Alias said. "If the youth are not being influenced or moved by it, you're going to lose a lot of members because it starts there," he said.

Alias 说“青少年是未来的人们。他们是给教堂带来生机的人们。如果青少年不受其影响或不被其感动，将会失去许多成员，因为它从这里开始。”

The Pew Research Center study says that almost 33 percent of American Catholics are Hispanic. The study also found that Hispanics are leaving the religion at a high rate. In 2010, 67 percent of Hispanic Americans identified themselves as Catholic. By 2013 that percentage had dropped to 55 percent.

皮尤研究中心的研究报告称，几乎33％的美国天主教徒是西班牙裔美国人。研究还发现，拉美裔美国人的离开率很高。2010年，拉美裔美国人中有67％认为自己是天主教徒。到2013年这一比例已经下降至55％。

I'm Jim Tedder.

我是吉姆特德。

VOA correspondent Daniela Schrier reported this story from New York City. Caty Weaver wrote it for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.

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Words in this Story

nationality– n. a group of people who share the same history, traditions, and language, and who usually live together in a particular country

evangelical – adj. of or relating to a Christian sect or group that stresses the authority of the Bible, the importance of believing that Jesus Christ saved you personally from sin or hell, and the preaching of these beliefs to other people

priest– n. a person who has the authority to lead or perform ceremonies in some religions and especially in some Christian religions

unaffiliated – adj. not connected with something (such as a program or organization) as a member or partner

invigorate ­– v. to give strength or energy to

drift– v. to change slowly from one state or condition to another