Pope Says World Must Intervene If Nations Do Not Protect Human Rights

Pope Says World Must Intervene If Nations Do Not Protect Human Rights
Benedict speaks to United Nations during first official visit to U.S.; earlier, in Washington, he met with victims of sex abuse by Catholic clergy. Transcript of radio broadcast:
18 April 2008

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Pope Benedict this week made his first visit to the United States since being elected leader of the Roman Catholic Church three years ago.

President Bush met the pope on his arrival Tuesday from Rome. After events in Washington, including his eighty-first birthday, Benedict flew to New York City on Friday for three days there.

He said in a speech to the United Nations that all nations have a duty to protect people from human rights violations and humanitarian crises. If states are unable to guarantee such protection, he said, then the international community must intervene.

He said supporting human rights remains the most effective way to eliminate inequalities between countries and social groups, and to increase security.

Catholics are the largest single religious group in the United States. A recent study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life estimated that almost one-fourth of adults belong to the church.

A large number of American Catholics, however, have left the church or dissented from its teachings. Yet, in the last thirty years, the share of Catholics in America has remained almost unchanged. This is mainly because of Catholic immigrants, mostly from Latin America.

Throughout the week, Pope Benedict the Sixteenth expressed regret about the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy. He said the abuse has caused great suffering for the church in America and for him personally. He said the situation has sometimes been handled very badly.

The American church says almost fourteen thousand claims of abuse have been brought against Catholic clergy since nineteen fifty. So far, the church has paid more than two billion dollars to victims, largely in the last six years.

On Thursday the pope met with several victims and apologized to them. Reaction to the meeting was mixed. Some activists said it was just for show; others said it was an important step.

Now, we answer a question. Sholeh from Indonesia wants to know how religions compare in size in the United States.

That recent study said almost eight out of ten adults are Christian. Catholics are the largest Christian group. More than half of Christians are Protestant, but the Protestant tradition has many different denominations.

The study said less than two percent of adults in the United States are Jewish and six-tenths of one percent are Muslim. Among other religions, Buddhists and Hindus also each represent less than one percent.

The researchers found that sixteen percent of American adults do not identify with any religion. And they said a surprisingly high number of Americans change religions.

The study found that more than one-fourth of American adults have left the faith of their childhood for another religion or no religion. That jumps to forty-four percent if it includes movement from one Protestant denomination to another.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

----------------------------Google Translate

教宗说，世界必须进行干预，如果国家不保护人权
本笃说，以联合国在首次正式访问美国;早些时候，在华盛顿期间，他会见的受害者性虐待的天主教神职人员。全文电台广播：
2008年4月18日

这是在新闻报道中，在美国之音特别英语。

教宗本笃本周进行了他第一次访问美国时，因为被选出的领袖，罗马天主教教会在三年前。

布什总统会见教宗对他的到来周二从罗马。事件后在华盛顿，其中包括他的80 -第一个生日，本笃飞往纽约市周五为三天。

他说，在一次讲话中向联合国表示，所有国家都有责任保护人民不受侵犯人权和人道主义危机。如果国家无法保证这种保护措施，他说，那么，国际社会必须进行干预。

他说，支持人权仍是最有效的方法，以消除国家间的不均等和社会团体，并提高安全性。

天主教会是世界上最大的单一宗教团体，在美国发行。最近的一项研究是由皮尤论坛对宗教和公共生活中，估计将近有四分之一的成年人属于教会。

大批的美国天主教徒，但已离开教堂或异议，由它的教义。然而，在过去的30年中，所占的天主教徒在美国几乎保持不变。这主要是因为天主教移民，其中多数来自拉丁美洲。

整个星期，教宗本笃十六表示遗憾，对儿童的性虐待，由天主教神职人员。他说，滥用已造成了巨大苦难，为教会在美国和他本人。他说，形势发生了，有时被处理得非常糟糕。

美国圣公会说，近1.4万索赔的滥用已对天主教神职人员自1950年。到目前为止，教会付出了20多亿美元，以受害者，这主要是在过去六年。

上周四，教宗会晤了几位受害者道歉给他们。反应，向本次会议是好坏参半。一些活跃分子说，这只是作秀;别人说，这是一个重要的步骤。

现在，我们回答一个问题。 sholeh从印度尼西亚想知道宗教的比较，在规模，在美国。

最近的研究说，几乎有八成的成年人是基督徒。天主教会是世界上最大的基督教团体。一半以上的基督徒是新教徒，但新教传统，有多种不同的教派。

研究报告说，不到两成的成年人，在美国的犹太人和六年闰1 ％是穆斯林。除其他宗教，佛教徒和印度教徒，也各自代表不到一％ 。

研究人员发现，有16 ％的美国成年人不认同任何宗教。他们说是出奇的高多的美国人改变宗教。

研究发现，超过四分之一的美国成年人已经离开信仰，他们的童年，为另一种宗教或任何宗教。这跳跃，以44 ％的，如果它包含运动，从一个新教教派到另一个地方。

这是在新闻报道中，在美国之音特别英语，写brianna布雷克。我史蒂夫Ember公司。