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今日主題：The church in Germany-- Bishop of bling (德國教堂--奢華的主教)

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中英文稿：
The church in Germany-- Bishop of bling
德國教堂--奢華的主教

Episcopal extravagance fuels criticism of state-financed churches
主教的土豪作風激發了對國家資助教堂的批評

THE faithful of Limburg, a diocese in Hesse, have been protesting in front of their Romanesque cathedral, a few even affixing “95 theses” to its door to make their views of their bishop unmistakable. But the prelate, Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, had already gone to Rome, where he awaits a meeting with Pope Francis that will determine his future. The extent of his excesses is such that it is hard to say which detail most rankles Germans, and not only Catholic ones.
來自海塞一個主教教區林堡的信徒們在他們羅馬式的大教堂前舉行抗議，一些人甚至在教堂門口貼上“95個議題”的標語來證明其關於主教觀點的正確性。但是這 位主教弗蘭茲彼得已經去了羅馬，正等待覲見將決定其命運的教皇法蘭西斯。他行為過激的程度可以參考於：很難說是哪個細節激怒了德國人，但這個原因不只是來 自天主教方面。

For some it is the petty lying. Last year the bishop flew first class to India to look at some do-goody projects. But when Der Spiegel, a news magazine, confronted him, he insisted that he had flown business class, even signing affidavits. On October 10th prosecutors in Hamburg indicted him for perjury.
對一些人來說，這個原因是主教撒的一個小謊。去年，主教搭乘頭等艙去印度視察一些不切實際的慈善項目。但是當新聞雜誌社明鏡詢問他時，他堅決地說自己搭的是商業艙，甚至簽訂了宣誓書。在10月10號，漢堡的檢察官起訴他做偽證。

For others it is the pomp and luxury. In 2010, two years after he became Germany's youngest bishop at the age of 48, Bishop Franz-Peter began building a new residence next to the cathedral. The cost was estimated at 5.5m (7.43m). Then his requests piled up. His bathtub cost 15,000. Instead of resting an advent wreath on an iron frame in his chapel, he wanted it suspended from the ceiling, requiring the roof to be cut open, at a cost of 100,000 instead of 10,000. In total, the cost estimates now run to 31m. 對另外一些人來說，這個原因是主教的奢華作風。在2010年，也就是在他以48歲成為德國最年輕主教的兩年後，主教弗蘭茲彼得開始著手在教堂旁邊修建一座 全新住宅。這個花銷大約是550萬歐元（743萬美元）。接下來，他的欲望開始膨脹。他的浴缸花了1.5萬歐元。不同於將耶誕節花圈放在小禮拜堂鐵架上的 是，主教想要將花圈從屋頂上懸掛下來，這需要打開屋頂，所需開銷不是之前的1萬歐元而是10萬歐元。加起來，主教花費的所有開銷現在達到3100萬歐元。

Germans usually expect to read about such clerical ostentation in history books about the Reformation. Pope Francis, who has chosen simplicity and modesty as his message, makes the incongruity even starker. In an increasingly secular Germany this latest scandal is disastrous for the churches.
德國人通常喜歡從有關宗教改革的歷史書上閱讀到此類關於牧師虛偽的故事。選擇簡單和謙虛作為自己行事方式的教皇法蘭西斯讓這種矛盾突顯的更加厲害，以致達到了天壤之別的效果。在信教人數越來越少的德國，這種醜聞對教會來說真是災難性的打擊。

Germany separates church and state much less clearly than does America but more explicitly than Anglican Britain or Orthodox Greece. Its post-war constitution, in a clause carried over verbatim from the Weimar constitution of 1919, favours no particular faith but lets all churches levy taxes on their members through the income-tax system (8% or 9% of a taxpayer's bill, depending on the state). The state also finances churches directly. It still compensates them for expropriations dating back to 1803, when Napoleon demanded war reparations from German princes.
德國的政教分明沒有美國明顯，但是分的比英國聖公會和正統的希臘人要清晰。從1919年魏瑪憲法中逐字逐句搬過來的條例說到，戰後憲法不特別支持哪一種宗 教，但是會通過所得稅系統（納稅人納稅單的8%或9%，具體由不同國家決定）對所有教堂成員進行徵稅。國家也會直接資助教堂。國家還針對徵用問題對教堂進 行了補償，這要追溯到1803年，拿破崙向德國王子要求戰爭賠償。

With this money the churches take on more tasks than in many other countries. One hospital in three, for example, is run by a church, as are many crèches and schools. The churches are Germany's second-largest employers (after the government). This has drawbacks, says Eva Müller, author of a book critical of the system. A Catholic-run crèche, say, can fire a teacher who divorces and remarries, even though no secular German institution may do so. In one egregious case last December, a woman who had been raped was refused treatment by two Catholic hospitals because abortion was one option.
有了這些錢，相比於其他國家的教堂，德國教堂可以承擔更多的任務。例如，三分之一的醫院是教堂經營的，許多托兒所和學校也是這樣。教堂是德國的第二大雇主 （僅次於政府）。反對該系統的作者梅薏華說，這樣的系統有許多缺陷。任何一家天主教醫院可以解雇離婚或再婚的老師，而所謂“世俗”的德國機構都不能這樣隨 心所欲。去年12月份，有一件驚人的案子，一位被強姦的婦女被兩家天主教醫院拒絕而得不到治療，因為天主教反對墮胎。

Aside from public funds, many churches also have half-hidden pots of money to play with. Bishop Franz-Peter, for example, built his compound with money from an endowment set up by a duke of Nassau two centuries ago. Hardly anybody knows what assets are in it. The churches urgently need to make such things transparent, argues Thomas von Mitschke-Collande, a former consultant at McKinsey who has written another critique of Germany's Catholic church.
除了這些公共基金，許多教堂還有很多不透明的錢來花銷。例如，主教弗蘭茲彼得用養老金來建成自己的宅邸，這些養老金是由一位拿索公爵在兩世紀前募集來的。 人們很難知道這些錢來自哪些資產。麥肯錫公司的前顧問湯姆斯說，教堂應當立即把這些資產透明化。湯姆斯還寫過另外幾篇關於批評德國天主教堂的文章。

In the meantime ever more Germans respond by severing their affiliation with institutionalised religion. Church attendance, weddings and baptisms are all declining. The exodus would be faster still but for the many Germans who remain church members for pragmatic reasons, such as sending children to a church school. Even so, more than 100,000 Germans leave the Catholic and Protestant church every year. In Limburg exits usually run at one or two a day, but have now jumped to about a dozen.
與此同時，更多的德國人通過切斷自己和這片制度化區域的友好聯繫來表示抗議。教堂出席、婚禮和洗禮數量都在下降。人們的離去會越來越快，但還是有許多德國 人為了一些比如送小孩去教堂學習等現實原因留在了教堂。儘管如此，每年還是有超過10萬德國人離開天主教和新教教堂。在林堡，通常一天就有一兩個人離開， 但是現在已經上升到十幾個了。