VOA慢速英语：天主教会可能会为退休教皇制定新规则

Pope Benedict, the retired leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died December 31. He became Pope in 2005 and retired from the position in 2013. Most popes serve until they die.

罗马天主教会的退休领导人——教皇本笃十六世12月31日去世。他于2005年成为教皇，并于2013年从该职位退休。大多数教皇都会任职至死。

There are not many rules or traditions in place concerning retired popes. Benedict was the first pope to retire in 600 years.

关于退休的教皇，没有很多规则或传统。本笃十六世是600年来第一位退休的教皇。

Benedict took the title Pope Emeritus upon retirement. But, that led to some confusion among Roman Catholics over the next ten years. Followers wondered if they should honor official messages from Benedict as a new pope, Francis, was leading the Church.

本笃十六世在退休时获得了名誉教皇的称号。但是，这导致在接下来的十年里，罗马天主教徒之间出现了一些混乱。追随者们想知道，当新教皇方济各领导教会时，他们是否应该尊重本笃十六世的官方信息。

Some were unsure about who was in charge: the pope or the pope emeritus?

一些人不确定谁在负责：教皇还是名誉教皇?

With the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the question has been answered.

随着名誉教皇本笃十六世的去世，这个问题得到了答案。

The Church's press office released a two-sentence announcement. No one rang the bells at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, as would have been done with a serving pope. There was no official live statement to followers outside the basilica either. The Vatican response makes clear that Benedict stopped being pope upon retirement.

教会的新闻办公室发布了一份两句话的公告。没有人在梵蒂冈城的圣彼得大教堂敲钟，这是在任教皇应该做的事。大教堂外也没有向教徒发表正式的现场声明。梵蒂冈的回应明确指出，本笃十六世退休后就不再是教皇。

Experts say the death announcement was more like those that come with the death of other clergy, such as bishops.

专家们说，本笃十六世的死亡公告更像是其他神职人员(如主教)死亡时的公告。

Benedict is getting some important honors, however. For example, he is lying in state for three days inside St. Peter's Basilica. He is wearing the red robes of a pope for lying in state and the burial. Many thousands of visitors have paid their respects to Benedict there already. Pope Francis will lead Benedict's funeral on Thursday.

不过，本笃十六世还是获得一些重要的荣誉。例如，他将在圣彼得大教堂内受人瞻仰三天。他穿着教皇的红色长袍供人瞻仰。成千上万的参观者已经在那里向本笃十六世表达了敬意。教皇方济各将于周四主持本笃十六世的葬礼。

The Vatican says the service will be simple. It invited delegations only from Germany and Italy to attend. When a serving pope dies, the entire international community is invited to send delegates.

梵蒂冈表示，葬礼仪式将很简单。只邀请了德国和意大利的代表团参加。而当在职教皇去世时，会邀请整个国际社会派代表前往参加葬礼。

After the funeral, Roman Catholic Church leaders will start to think about some rules for future popes who decide to retire.

葬礼结束后，罗马天主教会领导人将开始考虑为未来决定退休的教皇制定一些规则。

Some wonder if Pope Francis will make new rules for retired popes. Perhaps Francis himself will think about retiring.

有些人想知道教皇方济各是否会为退休的教皇制定新规则。也许方济各本人也会考虑退休。

Pope Francis said Benedict was "saintly and discreet" as pope emeritus. He said those qualities enabled Benedict to carry out retired life in a good way.

教皇方济各说，本笃十六世作为名誉教皇是 "圣洁和谨慎的"。他说这些品质使本笃十六世能够以良好的方式开展退休生活。

But Francis also said there should be some rules to guide future retirements. One likely change is to bar use of the title Pope Emeritus.

但方济各也说应该有一些规则来指导未来的退休生活。有可能会禁止使用名誉教皇的称号。

In 2021, lawyers who are experts in the workings of the Roman Catholic Church started a project to think about papal retirement. Among the proposals they produced was a new title for retirees: "bishop emeritus of Rome."

2021年，精通罗马天主教会运作的律师们启动了一个项目，研究教皇的退休问题。在他们提出的建议中，有一个为退休教皇设立的新头衔：“罗马荣誉主教”。

They also suggested a retired pope should not wear or use traditional clothing or objects used by a serving pope. The retired pope, the group said, should support the Catholic Church but not take part in high-level church meetings.

他们还建议退休的教皇不应该穿或使用在任教皇使用的传统服装或物品。该组织表示，退休的教皇应该支持天主教会，但不应该参加教会的高层会议。

Such actions might help avoid problems and confusion, especially when a serving pope and retired pope disagree on issues.

这种行动可能有助于避免问题和混乱，特别是当在职教皇和退休教皇在问题上有分歧时。

Geraldina Boni is a professor of religious law at the University of Bologna who is part of the group. She said she thinks "appropriate ways will be found," so that followers are not confused.

Geraldina Boni是博洛尼亚大学的宗教法教授，也是该小组的成员。她说，她认为 "会找到适当的方法"，这样信徒们就不会感到困惑。

Boni said the group was criticized for coming together in 2021. But, she said the need for rules about retirement "has been affirmed by high-level church" officials.

Boni说，该组织因在2021年聚集在一起而受到批评。但是，她说，有关制定退休规定的必要性“已经得到了教会高级官员的肯定”。

No one knows if the Vatican will consider the group's ideas. One observer, however, thinks Francis will now find it easier to think about his own retirement since Benedict set an example.

没有人知道梵蒂冈是否会考虑该组织的想法。然而，一位观察家认为，自从本笃十六世树立了一个榜样后，方济各现在考虑自己的退休问题会更容易些。

Luis Badilla runs a blog that covers the Vatican called Il Sismografo.

路易斯·巴迪拉管理着一个名为Il Sismografo的博客，专门报道梵蒂冈的情况。

"We have to get used to the idea that popes will live long lives and that, in the end, just like my grandfather or your grandfather and everyone's grandfathers, they can't continue," he said. "But they are still part of the family, and this is something beautiful. It gives us a normal church, not a Martian or other-worldly one."

他说：“我们必须习惯这样一种观念，即教皇会长寿，但最终，就像我的祖父、你的祖父以及所有人的祖父一样，他们无法继续活下去。”“但他们仍然是家庭的一部分，这是一件美好的事情。它给了我们一个正常的教堂，而不是火星上的或超世俗的教堂。”

I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

丹·弗里德尔、小马里奥·里特联合报道。