耿庆文观点：对教会改革的四大呼吁

在选举教宗的闭门会议中， 来自布宜诺斯艾利斯的乔治．马里奥．贝戈格利奥枢机主教曾发言警告：“自我优越感与神学自恋导致病态的教会”。他更批评“庸俗化的教会,生活在自我意识之中，只属于自己，为自己。”

When addressing the cardinal conclave, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Buenos Aires warned of “self-preferentiality” and “theological narcissism,” which he said would lead to a “sick” Church. He particularly criticized the “mundane Church that lives within itself, of itself and for itself.”

 

继任六个月以来，世人已经明显的体认到， 这位阿根廷枢机主教，也就是现任教宗，当时的发言绝非无的放矢。

Six months into his papacy, it is crystal clear that this Argentine cardinal, now Pope Francis, was very serious about what he said.

 

从他的所言所行，不论是已经具体进行的，还是正在规划中的，毫无疑问的在方济各教宗的领导下，天主教会正面临一场大变革。

In his words and his deeds, in what he has done and what he is laying out to do, there is no doubt that the Catholic Church under Pope Francis is facing a game change.

 

 

一．罗马教廷去神职化                             

One: Declericalizing the curia

 

毋庸置疑的，当务之急是彻底清理整顿本笃十六逊位后遗留下来的那个乌烟瘴气的罗马教廷。但是，要改变一个老朽又自负的行政体系谈何容易？

The first and foremost task, of course, is to sweep clean the Roman Curia, which was a mess by the time of Benedict XVI’s resignation. However, imposing change in a decrepit yet conceited governance system is no easy task.

 

一位梵蒂冈的高层官员就对媒体直言：不错，近年来许多方面都是每况愈下，但梵蒂冈人多事杂，没有个制度是不行的。

“Things have gone downhill recently, but the Vatican is too big to function without procedures,” one veteran Vatican official said.

 

在早已公诸于世的财务违规和腐败行为之下，数世纪以来梵蒂冈教廷更隐藏着根深蒂固的宫廷式权谋和野心博弈。

The financial shenanigans and corruption have already been made public, but beneath that there have been the equally corrosive effects of careerism and palace intrigue, which have entrenched the governing apparatus of the papal state for centuries.

 

但是，教宗方济各很技巧的避开了盘踞教廷的旧势力体系，而在他自选的 Santa Marta hostel 宿舍的二楼，设立了由几位义大利籍和阿根廷籍得力助手组成的教宗秘书处。

Yet Pope Francis is tactfully circumventing the old guard by forming his own secretariat, composed of a handful of Argentines and Italians, who work on the second floor of the Santa Marta hostel, the residence of choice ever since his elevation to the papacy in March.

 

在这个教宗秘书处的襄理下，方济各不仅甄选了来自世界各地区八位枢机主教组成永久性的咨询委员会，综合筹划教廷改革的方向和方式。他更创设了主要由平信徒组成的专家团针对教廷的财务和行政体制进行审核整顿。后者的重要性与划时代意义尤其明显，许多观察家们已经在窃窃私语：这是不是教廷人事去神职化的预兆？

As governed by this papal “mini-curia,” Francis has not only established the eight-cardinal papal council to study the ways and means of curia reform, but he has also set up a group of mainly lay experts to streamline financial and administration procedures. The significance of the latter decision has already been borne out in the murmurings heard among many observers: is this an omen of declericalizing the headquarters of the Catholic Church?

 

二． 重塑新的圣统制范                                   Two: Reshaping the hierarchy

 

梵二会议后五十年，教会里仍然弥漫着浓厚的教权主义思想。这主要是因为若望保禄二世与本笃十六任内提升的教会高层神职人员，至少在表面上几乎全部都是缅怀旧制的传统主义者。

Fifty years after Vatican II, the Church hierarchy is still full of clericalism, thanks to the disproportionate presence of liturgical traditionalists who populated the upper echelons of the Church during the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

 

有些自负的神职人员，还具有教区尚书大人的虚荣心态，高高在上，缺少与他们声称所代表的教众打成一片的亲和力。

Aspirant clergy, who possess the pseudo-vanity mentality of diocesan chancery officials, often post themselves above, rather than among, the people who they purport to represent. 

 

然而，方济各明示了他心目中的理想主教人选应该是：“接近群众……而且生活简单，朴实。”他更强调：“天主的仆人不能有王子心态。”

However, Francis made it clear that his ideal bishops are “close to the people…. and also by outward simplicity and austerity of life.” Further, servants of God “should not have the psychology of princes.”

 

值得注意的是：新教宗例出的主教们应具备的人格品质里却没有提到前两任教宗甚为重视的“忠心和正统”。

What is absent from Francis’ list of episcopal attributes were “loyalty and orthodoxy,” the two criteria much emphasized by John Paul and Benedict.

 

显而易见地，教宗方济各是先发制人，意欲压抑顽强的教权主义，和附带的那些花里胡哨的气势。他要将不肖神职人员为自身利益而声称其权威与圣神相连的那条虚拟脐带剪除。

It appears that Francis is doing his due diligence in order to pre-empt the tenacious clericalism, and all its bells and whistles, by severing the mythical umbilical cord tied to the divine lineage, which is habitually invoked for the self-serving purposes of many clerics.

 

许多人认为“天主的仆人不能有王子心态”这句话也是针对被称为教会精英的枢机主教们而发。未来的罗马大主教（教宗）将从枢机主教团里产生，但不应以此而自命不凡。

In particular, the phrase “should not have the psychology of princes” may be aimed at the cardinals who form the Church’s most elite members, some believe. One of them will one day become the “crown prince” and inherit the throne of the Bishop of Rome but that is no excuse for elitism. 

 

传统上，教会高层与社会权贵世家多所交往。后者常以财物奉献和赞扬支持教会。而他们的慷慨也嘉惠到与其来往的神职人员。同时，在这种社交体系里，家中有一位枢机主教为座上客，不仅能提升身份地位，也有助于增加政治声望和商业利益。因此教会高层与在俗显达自然而然的形成了一种共生关系。这种看似无害的相互欣赏和推崇，却往往导致特权对价交易而违反教会的高道德标准要求。教宗方济各也决心终止这类历代相传的不成文“传统”。

Traditionally, the church establishment has had frequent exchange and dialogue with the rich and powerful upper classes, who have supported the church with donations and glorification. Their generosity often extended to the cleric’s personal wellbeing. A cardinal houseguest, in that system, not only symbolized a certain level of social status, but was also helpful in political or business engagements. Thus, a symbiotic relationship between the secular and clerical elites naturally formed. Such seemingly innocent mutual admiration, however, often led to privileged relationships that compromised the moral teachings of the church. Pope Francis wants to put an end to this centuries-old tradition.

 

三.  更新不合时宜的教会训导                 Three: Updating anachronistic teachings

 

教宗方济各对许多在前两任教宗任内具争议性的社会议题也持更宽松和理解的态度。举例来说：

Pope Francis is much more lenient towards many social subjects deemed contentious under his two predecessors. Among the highlights:

 

今年五月教宗语出惊人地说，包括无神论者，只要素行善良，死后都能进天堂。

Francis raised a lot of eyebrows in May after saying all people who do good works, including atheists, are going to heaven.

 

他号召建立新的神学论述，支持女性在教会里担当更关键的任务，并说圣母玛利亚比追随耶稣的任何一个宗徒都重要的言论，也在舆论界轰动一时。

He also made headlines with his call for the Church to develop a new theology of women, saying women must have a greater role; that Mary is more important than any of the apostles.

 

不久前，他又说他不会对同性恋者擅加判断。这与本笃十六的思维是直接对立的。担任教宗前的拉辛格枢机对于同性恋与祝圣女性司祭主张的鞭挞，向来不遗余力。

Recently, Francis was praised for saying he would not judge a gay person. Contrast that with Pope Benedict XVI, who as Cardinal Ratzinger was thought to be the driving force behind crackdowns on homosexuality and women’s ordination.

 

对于离婚和再婚问题：方济各说“是展现仁慈的时候了。”他要求重新检讨教会审判婚姻无效的法律过程。

On divorce and remarriage: Francis said "this is a time for mercy."  He wanted the Church's judicial system of annulling marriages to be "looked at again.”

 

对于神父守独身：早在 2012年的一次采访中，那时的乔治．贝戈格利奥枢机主教就曾说独身“是纪律，无关信仰。可以改变。”而当前梵蒂冈的态度则是开放讨论司祭守独身议题。

On celibacy of priests: In a 2012 interview, as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, he said celibacy "is a matter of discipline, not of faith. It can change. " And now, the Vatican position is: “the practice of celibacy by priests is open for discussion. “

 

对于那些反对梵二会议所提出教会现代化进程的传统派天主教徒，教宗方济各不留情面的称他们是“复古集团”，指责这种钻牛角尖的开倒车行径与21世纪教会的福传使命完全脱节。

For the traditionalist Catholics who oppose the modernizing reforms of the Vatican II, Pope Francis unsparingly called them the "restoratist groups," which he accuses of being navel-gazing retrogrades, out of touch with the Church’s evangelizing mission in the 21st century.

 

概括地说：正如 America 杂志特约编辑耶稣会士詹姆士.马丁神父所言“这并不意味着教宗改变了任何基本要素 － 他仍然聚焦于耶稣基督和宣扬福音。”许多梵蒂冈观察者却认为方济各的教宗任期可以确定将是“颇具革命性”的，它将引领教会与现时代的民主精神同步并进。

In summary: “It doesn’t mean the pope is changing any of the essentials — he is still focused on Jesus Christ and proclaiming the gospel,” as articulated by Fr James Martin, a contributing editor at America magazine. The general consensus of many Vatican observers, however, is that Francis’ papacy will be nothing short of “a revolutionary one,” which will bring the Church in line with "the democratic spirit of our times.”

 

 

四. 创建民有，民享的神学论述

Four: Developing a theology of the people, for the people

 

本笃十六认为教会的使命是致力寻求绝对神性的真理 。他指出相对主义是困扰信仰与道德的主要问题之一。

For Benedict XVI, the Church is engaged in the search for absolute divine truth. He identified relativism as one of the most significant problems for faith and morals.

 

教宗方济各在一本与他人共同执笔，书名为“在天堂和世间”的著作里写道：“宗教真理不会改变，但在不停的发展与成长。真理若缺少了柔美，就变得冰冷，无情和骄傲，就像我们常在一些心怀怨愤的基要派者的言词中感受到的一样。“

In a book called On Heaven and Earth that he co-wrote, Francis said: “Religious truth does not change, but it does develop and grow. Without the joy of beauty, truth becomes cold and even ruthless and proud, as we see happening in the discourse of many bitter fundamentalists.”

 

他批评宗教基要主义扭曲并弱化信众： “傲慢又喜好替门徒做决定的师父不是好师父，那是个独裁者， 是他人宗教人格的抹煞者。“  他并说：”这种僵化的宗教狂热意识，包裹着层层的教条，佯装成有正当理据，但实际上，它不但是对自由的否定，也限制了人们的心灵成长。”

He criticized the way that religious fundamentalism warps and weakens the faithful: "The teacher who is so arrogant as to make decisions for the disciple is not a good priest; he's a good dictator, an eraser of the religious personalities of others.” He continued: “This kind of religiosity, so rigid, wraps itself in doctrines that pretend to provide justifications, but in reality they deny liberty and don't allow people to grow."

 

过去数十年来，成千上万的人离开了教堂。即使在留下者之中，许多人对教会的道德训导也置若罔闻。有大批的教友最后落得过着双重人格的生活。

For decades, millions have left the Church. Among those who have stayed, many have ignored the Church’s teachings on moral issues. A large number end up living a double life.

 

世界在呐喊，文化的呼唤嘹亮，是沉思和反省的时候了。信众的共识，是“不会错的教会”的声音。

The world shouts, the culture is loud and the time has come to ponder and to reflect. The consensus of the faithful is the voice of the infallible Church.

 

教宗方济各十分精明，活力充沛，而且脚踏实地。他继任后的种种迹象都在在显示，具有标志性的实质变革已然发生。正如前文提到的，方济各的改革实际上是一场方济各革命，将为普世天主教会的史诗开启一个新的篇章。

Francis is shrewd, energetic and down to earth. There are signs that substantive changes are taking place. As mentioned above, Francis’ reforms amount to a de facto Francis revolution, which is opening a new chapter in the epic of universal Catholicism.

 

作者 耿庆文博士为美国康乃尔大学博士，加拿大自由撰稿人。阅读该作者其他作品，请连接： https://twitter.com/JohnCKeng .

Dr. John C Keng is a Canada based freelance writer on church and social issues.  Many of his readers are in the greater Chinese region.  Follow him on Twitter:@JohnCKeng