雪梨，天主教徒，酷！

Catholic and cool in Sydney

雪梨，天主教徒，酷！

By Michael Cook

Chief Editor

作者：米格爾‧庫克總編輯

引自：www.mercatornet.com

譯者：林豪

World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney was a triumph for the Catholic Church and its 81-year-old head, Pope Benedict XVI. About 400,000 people attended a final Mass on Sunday (July 20), briefly making the pilgrims’ destination bigger than the nation’s capital, Canberra . Some baffled journalists described it as a Catholic Woodstock – the 1969 orgy of, drugs and sex and rock ‘n roll which became an iconic moment for baby-boomers. But 40 years later, the world has moved in an unexpected direction. WYD, the biggest youth event in history, is an anti-Woodstock, a repudiation of the materialism and secularism of the baby-boomers.

2008年在雪梨剛閉幕之世界青年日是天主教會的榮耀，領導者即是年高八十一歲的教宗本篤十六世，在六月二十日最後一台彌撒約有四十萬人參加，簡言之使朝聖者的目的地大過該國首都砍培拉，一些受挫之旅客形容它為「天主教的伍斯托克」（Catholic Woodstock）－在1969年的神秘祭神儀式，毒品、性及搖滾樂，成了當時新生代的象徵，但四十年後，世界轉向始料未及的方向「世青日」，史上最大規模之青年活動，是一種「反伍斯托克」，拒絕物質主義及世俗主義的誕生。

After years of being booed offstage, the curtains have again opened and God is being greeted with tumultuous applause. As a young woman commenting the event on Australian TV said, with unabashed confidence, it used not to be “trendy” to be a Catholic in Sydney , but now “it’s become cool again”. No wonder the news that Madrid will host WYD 2011 was greeted with such jubilation.

在幾年的反對聲浪後，幕簾再升且天主以震天的掌聲祝福了它，一位少女以十足的信心在澳洲電視上說：「過去在雪梨成為天主教徒不曾視為『趕時髦』，但現在『又成了很酷的事了！』」無疑地2011年將在馬德里舉行「世青日」獲得歡天地慶賀。

The response of young people was stunning. About 125,000 pilgrims made their way from across the world, despite increased airfares and the immense distance which isolates Europe and the Americas from Australia . After months of scrimping and saving many from overseas would have spent 20 to 30 hours in the air to reach Sydney . And despite negative reports in the media and lukewarm support from many Catholic schools, they were joined by another 100,000 Australian pilgrims. On the last day, when Benedict celebrated a Mass at Randwick Race Course, thousands more joined them.

回應青年問題實在不易，約125,000朝聖者來自地球的另一邊，此外機票高漲及遙遠的路程隔絕了澳洲與歐、美洲，在幾個月的細算及節約，許多在飛機上耗費20至30小時的海外旅客匯集到雪梨，除了媒體負面的報導及來自許多天主教學校冷淡的支持，與其他十萬澳國朝聖者相結合，在最後一天當本篤十六世在蘭域(Randwick)跑馬場主禮彌撒時，屬以千計信友加入。

The Vatican and Sydney ’s Cardinal George Pell had planned this event as a catechesis, a teachable moment, a festival of Catholic culture, teaching and prayer. For pilgrims who came early, dioceses around the country organized talks on controversial topics like Catholic views on sexuality, bioethics, faith and reason. During the week immediately before there were addresses from Catholic bishops from around the globe.

梵蒂崗及雪梨樞機George Pell計畫以問答方式，處理此一教導時刻，天主教文化、教導及祈禱之慶日，教區為早到的朝聖者準備了爭議性話題的講座，如以天主教的觀點看：性、生物倫理、信仰及推理，在一週內即刻先於全球主教發表。

In fact, one of the striking features of Sydney ’s World Youth Day was how naturally Gen Y slotted into traditional aspects of Catholic devotion and doctrine which the Woodstock generation spurned as fossilized relics of the pre-Vatican II era. Not so, said today’s youth.

現今青年認為，不只如此，事實上，對雪梨世青會的一項衝擊，自然地指向這年輕族群接納傳統天主教敬禮及道理的看法，「伍斯托克」衍生出在梵二之前蔑視聖髑的時代。

Entering a new era

邁向新的時代

During the days leading up to the climactic Mass, young people were queuing up for the Catholic sacrament of Reconciliation, or Confession, and to spend time in prayer in churches before the Eucharist. Thousands walked 9 kilometres to Randwick across Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge– closed to traffic for only the third time in its history – often singing hymns or praying the Rosary if they were not kicking a football or skylarking. Some carried huge banners saying, “We love our German Shepherd”. A Saturday evening vigil was followed by the vast slumber party on the site where Mass was to be celebrated the next day. Confessions continued throughout the night and even at three in the morning, a tent with the Blessed Sacrament exposed was full of young people praying.

在這幾天引導至彌撒的高潮，青年們排隊辦告解且在聖體櫃前祈禱，上千名青年步行 九公里 跨越雪梨的象徵海港大橋到達蘭域(Randwick)－有史以來第三次封閉交通－如果他們不踢著足球或嘻笑，通常都唱著聖歌或恭念玫瑰經，有些人帶著大型的旗幟寫著：「我們愛我們的德國牧人。」一個星期六晚上在廣場上舉行了一個大型的睡衣晚會之後開始守聖時，隔日彌撒亦在此舉行，整夜持續進行告解甚至到晚上三點，一座帳棚內設有聖體櫃其中坐滿了祈禱的年輕人。

And even the most churlish journalists had to admit that the pilgrims were cheerful, high-spirited and ordinary, not the scowling killjoy zealots some had expected. A group calling itself the No to Pope Coalition – a collection of drag queens, homosexuals, atheists and (believe it or not) lesbian Raelians – showered passing pilgrims with condoms as they streamed over the Harbour Bridge . But the stunt provoked only laughter and pained perplexity. “They’ve all got their own opinions,” remarked an 18-year-old New Zealand girl. “We’ve got our own beliefs and we’re not going to change it because of them.”

甚至於最粗暴的記者們必須承認這些朝聖者是喜樂、勇敢及平凡的，不向有人想像的皺眉、無趣的狂熱者，一個自稱為「反教宗的團體」－集合了男扮女裝的皇后、同性戀、及女同性戀無神論團體－在朝聖者穿越海港大橋時他們將保險套拋向他們，此驚人之舉只獲得了笑聲及痛苦的困惑，一位十八歲的紐西蘭少女談到：「他們有自己的主見，我們有自己的信仰且我們不會因他們的作法而改變。」

Pope Benedict clearly enjoyed the celebration. Nowadays he responds more spontaneously to the enthusiasm and affection of crowds. But although he received a pop star’s welcome, he had came as Pope “to the end of the world” determined to reenergize the Church in Australia and to urge young people to commit themselves to God.

教宗本篤清楚地享受了這次慶典，當下他回應了熱忱及熱情的群眾，但雖然他接受了如搖滾巨星的歡迎，他身為教宗決定振興澳國教會及鼓勵青年們與天主認同「直到末日」。

Four themes of Benedict’s catechesis

教宗本篤提出四項主題

The intriguing thing about Benedict is that a man of his age, shy, modest and uncharismatic, convinces by virtue of his perceptiveness and rigour and clarity. His addresses at World Youth Day were pitched at a high level. They were intellectual, without rhetorical flourishes, and went straight to the heart of the conflict between religion and secular culture. Four messages stood out.

由於本篤對道德的洞悉力、嚴厲及明晰，因此被批評為年老、害羞、禮貌及沒有魅力，他在世青日提出這是高水準的，他們的理智，沒有過度的修飾且直及內心在宗教及世俗文化間的衝擊，提出四項堅持：

Speaking to all Australians, the Pope lamented that “In so many of our societies, side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading: an interior emptiness, an unnamed fear, a quiet sense of despair.” He constantly attributed this to the scourge of relativism, the belief that there is no truth. Instead, people are offered mere “experiences” with no standard by which to judge them.

對所有澳國人談話，教宗感念「在我們許多的社會中，物質興旺，而靈性的沙漠擴張著：一種內在的空虛、無名的恐懼及寧靜的絕望感。」他持續地將此歸咎於相對論的遺害，而此信念認為沒有真理，然而人們提供只是「經驗」沒有任何標準來評斷它們。

To all believers, the Pope brought encouragement to continue to fight to keep religion in the public square. In one of his most interesting addresses, to representatives of the non-Christian religions, he countered the assertion that religion and violence are inextricably mixed.

A yearning for the transcendent leads people to realise that fulfilment does not consist in selfishness. “Rather, it leads us to meet the needs of others and to search for concrete ways to contribute to the common good. Religions have a special role in this regard, for they teach people that authentic service requires sacrifice and self-discipline, which in turn must be cultivated through self-denial, temperance and a moderate use of the world’s goods. In this way, men and women are led to regard the environment as a marvel to be pondered and respected rather than a commodity for mere consumption. It is incumbent upon religious people to demonstrate that it is possible to find joy in living simply and modestly, generously sharing one’s surplus with those suffering from want.”

對所有信眾，教宗鼓勵大家在公眾場合奮鬥維護信仰，在他一項最有趣的申明，針對具代表性的非基督宗教，他反對評判宗教與暴力是不可避免的，為卓越地領導群眾瞭解實踐不在於自私這一項渴望，「因此，這引導我們發現他人的需要及尋找具體的方式為達到公義，宗教為此扮演了特殊的角色，因為他們教導群眾有效地服務需要犧牲及自我約束，亦即轉為培養棄絕自己、節制及適當的利用世界物資，為此人們被引導要尊重環境而驚訝，且沈思及尊重勝於對日用品只是浪費，這項責任並非只有宗教人士應當實踐，而應當盡可能由儉樸及審慎找到快樂，慷慨地將自己多餘的分施給因缺乏而受苦的人。」

To Catholics, the Pope emphasised unity. His address to the evening vigil was a stunning overview of the theology of unity. Although it may have gone over the head of many of the sleepy pilgrims waving candles in the darkness, he gave a masterful sketch of Augustine’s struggle to grasp the meaning of the Trinity, the central doctrine of Christianity. And he used this to make a pointed appeal for unity within the Church itself, urging Catholics to reject the temptation to set their local community against the “so-called institutional Church”.

“For it is precisely the comprehensiveness, the vast vision, of our faith – solid yet open, consistent yet dynamic, true yet constantly growing in insight – that we can offer our world.”

對所有天主教徒，教宗強調合一，他表示夜間守聖時是神學合一絕佳的表現，受到許多在夜間搖擺著蠟燭困倦的朝聖者歡迎，他給了奧斯定奮鬥攫取聖三意義，基督宗教道理的核心之著名形象，他以此為重點呼籲教會本身的合一，激勵教友們拒絕他們當地社團，以反對「所稱的制度教會」的誘惑，「我們可奉獻給世界的是，為其明確地而綜合性的想法，宏大視野，我們的堅固而開放的信仰，始終如一而有活力，確實而持續增長洞察力。」

And to young people, over and over again, he emphasised their responsibility to pass on their faith to others. He called upon them to be prophets of a new society: “a new age in which love is not greedy or self-seeking, but pure, faithful and genuinely free, open to others, respectful of their dignity, seeking their good, radiating joy and beauty. A new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy and self-absorption which deaden our souls and poison our relationships.”

為青年們，他再一次強調，他們的責任是將信仰傳給別人，他喚起他們成為一個新社會的先知：「在這個新的年代，愛卻要不貪婪或追逐私利，但純潔、忠實和真誠地自由，向其他人開放，尊重他人的自尊、尋求他人的好處、散發喜樂及美麗；在這個新的年代，希望讓我們由膚淺、無情及自我中心解放出來，他們會削弱我們的靈魂及毒害我們的人際關係。」

Enormous challenges ahead

The task of rebuilding the Catholic Church, in Australia as elsewhere, is an enormous challenge. Almost overshadowing the exuberant welcome given to the Pope in the local media were protests by victims of clergy sex abuse. It is claimed that more than 100 Catholic clergy have been jailed for this in recent years. There were insistent calls for an apology – and the Pope apologised during a Mass with the bishops, seminarians and young religious: “These misdeeds, which constitute so grave a betrayal of trust, deserve unequivocal condemnation. They have caused great pain and have damaged the Church’s witness… Victims should receive compassion and care, and those responsible for these evils must be brought to justice”.

面向巨大挑戰

重建天主教會的工作，在澳洲如他處一樣，是一巨大挑戰，由於神職人員性醜聞受害者的示威，當地媒體幾乎為隆重歡迎教宗蒙上陰影，其宣稱近年來有超過百位神職人員為此入獄，堅持要求道歉－而教宗在與主教、修生及年輕會士舉行彌撒時道歉：「這些不當行為，構成了對信任極大的背離，應受明確地懲罰，他們造成教會見證極大的痛苦與損害…受害者應該受到憐憫及照顧，而這些邪惡的責任必須訴諸公義。」

Despite the shadows, Benedict’s rapturous reception in Sydney shows that Christianity is far from dead, or even dormant. Flags from dozens of countries were waving in the stiff breeze which blew up as World Youth Day drew to a close. Amongst them was the red star of the People’s Republic of China . Even there, in an officially Communist regime, the Pope has enthusiasts. Over the past five years a bitter secularism has sought to push religion into a closet. Books by proselytising atheists have captured the imagination of the media. Now, after a week of joyful, unashamed religious sentiment Down Under, everyone knows that there is a viable alternative. God is back in the game.

除了這項陰影，本篤在雪梨受瘋狂地歡迎表現基督宗教並未枯竭或甚至沈睡，為風中飄揚著許多國家的旗幟為世青日劃下句點，其中有中共的五星旗，甚至在那由共產黨官方管轄，仍有熱愛教宗的人士，過去超過五年有一項世俗主義的苦楚想將宗教封箱，背教無神論者的書籍捉住了媒體的幻想。紐澳現今在一星期的喜悅、坦然地宗教情愫後，眾所皆知仍有存活的選擇，天主重回這場遊戲。