教皇在体育场主持弥撒 群情振奋

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Pope Benedict XVI ended his six-day visit to the United States with a jubilant mass at the 57,000-seat Yankee Stadium. The leader of the world's one billion Catholics praised the United States' tradition of religious freedom at the service.

罗马天主教皇本笃在拥有5万7千个观众席的洋基体育场主持了一场洋溢着兴奋之情的弥撒，以此结束了对美国的六天访问。这位全世界10亿天主教徒的领导人赞扬美国在宗教崇拜方面实行宗教自由的传统。

On his arrival, the pontiff circled the packed stadium in his popemobile. The crowds waved handkerchiefs of white and yellow, the Vatican colors, and roared their approval with the sort of noisy enthusiasm that is usually reserved for rock concerts.

教皇在抵达洋基体育场的时候，乘坐教皇专车在挤得密不透风的体育场里绕场一周。人们挥舞着代表梵蒂冈的黄白两色的手绢，欢声雷动，表达他们对教皇的赞赏。这种现象通常只有在摇滚音乐会上才能见到。

During his homily, Pope Benedict addressed the issue of unity, which has been a theme of his visit. He also celebrated the bicentennial of Catholic dioceses in Baltimore, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Louisville, Kentucky and the tradition of religious freedom in the United States, which, he said, allowed successive waves of immigrants to build networks of strong churches and institutions.

教皇在布道时谈到团结问题，这是他此行的一个主题。他还对巴尔的摩、波士顿、纽约、费城、和肯塔基的路易斯维尔的天主教教区成立两百周年，和美国宗教自由的传统表示祝贺。他说，这种传统使移民源源不断而来，建立了强大的教会和各种机构的网络。

"In this land of religious liberty, Catholics found freedom not only to practice their faith but also to participate fully in civic life, bringing the deepest moral convictions to the public square and cooperating with their neighbors in shaping a vibrant, democratic society," said Pope Benedict XVI.

他说：“在这个实行宗教自由的国度，天主教徒不仅找到信仰他们宗教的自由，也找到充分参与公民生活的自由，把最深刻的道德信条带到公共广场上，与他们的邻居共同建造一个充满活力的民主社会。”

The pontiff also delivered comments in Spanish, recognizing a growing Catholic population in the United States.

教皇还用西班牙语进行了评论，对美国天主教徒的人数不断增加表示肯定。

More than 550 priests were on hand to distribute communion to the participants.

一共有550多位神父到场向与会者分发圣餐。

Just before the mass began hundreds of doves were released at the end of a two-hour Concert of Hope that enlisted the participation of such major entertainment figures as tenor Ronan Tynan, Jose Feliciano, opera star Marcello Giord and Harry Connick Junior.

在弥撒开始前，先举行了两个钟头的希望音乐会，著名演艺界人士男高音歌手逖南、费里夏诺、歌剧明星吉奥德和科尼克都进行了表演。演出后会场上放飞数百只鸽子。

Many political figures were also in attendance, including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He said that Benedict's visit raised his profile, especially his willingness to address tough issues such as the sexual abuse scandal that has wracked the American Catholic Church in recent years.

许多政界人士参加了这次弥撒，包括纽约市长布隆伯格。这位市长说，教皇本笃的来访提升了教皇的地位，特别是凸显了教皇愿意应对一些艰难的问题，比如性侵犯丑闻。这些丑闻近年来损害了美国天主教会的声誉。布隆伯格市长说：

"He is somebody who nobody knew a lot about before and I think his speeches have really gone a long way towards endearing himself to New Yorkers and Americans," said Michael Bloomberg. "He did not walk away from some bad things from the past. He addressed them, he pointed them out and he said we have to fix them, make sure it does not happen again, carry forward."

“过去，大家对教皇都不很了解。我认为，教皇的演讲让纽约人和美国人对他感到亲近。他并不回避过去的某些丑恶的事情。他处理这些事情。他指出这些丑事，并且表示，我们必须解决这些问题，确保它不再发生。然后大家继续向前走。”

The mass marked the third - and last - time that a Pope has led religious services at the legendary Yankee Stadium. The stadium is being replaced at the end of the 2008 baseball season with a new facility.

这次弥撒是第三次，也是最后一次由一位教皇在传奇的洋基体育场主持宗教仪式。这个体育场将在2008年美国职业棒球赛季结束后被一个新的体育场所取代。