世贸废墟上:信仰和怀疑 2

Interview Monsignor Lorenzo Albeceta
Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete is a Catholic theologian, author, and lecturer. He is a former president of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico.

[What have been the challenges to you as a priest?]
作为牧师的你,911的挑战有什么?
From the first moment I looked into that horror on Sept. 11, into that fireball, into that explosion of horror, I knew it. I knew it before anything was said about those who did it or why. I recognized an old companion. I recognized religion. Look, I am a priest for over 30 years. Religion is my life, it's my vocation, it's my existence. I'd give my life for it; I hope to have the courage. Therefore, I know it.
在我看到911的恐怖情形,火球, 爆炸的一刻, 我就知道了. 我在未知谁,为什么干了这事的时候就知道了. 我认出了一位老伙伴. 我看到了宗教. 看, 我做了30多年牧师. 宗教是我的生活, 职业, 经历. 我会为她而死; 希望我有那样的勇气. 所以, 我知道.
And I know, and recognized that day, that the same force, energy, sense, instinct, whatever, passion -- because religion can be a passion -- the same passion that motivates religious people to do great things is the same one that that day brought all that destruction. When they said that the people who did it did it in the name of God, I wasn't the slightest bit surprised. It only confirmed what I knew. I recognized it.
那一天, 我知道,认出了同样的力量, 活力, 意义, 本能, 激情 --- 宗教可以是一种激情 --- 同样的激情激励人们做出伟大的事迹, 也能在那一天(911)带来巨大的破坏. 当他们说干那事的那些人是以上帝的名义做的, 我没有丝毫的惊讶. 这只是证实了我已经知道的. 我认出了它.
I recognized this thirst, this demand for the absolute. Because if you don't hang on to the unchanging, to the absolute, to that which cannot disappear, you might disappear. I recognized that this thirst for the never-ending, the permanent, the wonders of all things, this intolerance or fear of diversity, that which is different -- these are characteristics of religion. And I knew that that force could take you to do great things. But I knew that there was no greater and more destructive force on the surface of this earth than the religious passion.
我认出了这热望, 这对绝对的要求. 因为如果你不依附于那不变的, 那绝对的, 那不消失的, 你可能会消失. 我认出了这种热望: 对那永不停止的, 那永久的, 那所有事物的奇迹的热望, 这对多样性的, 对不同的东西的恐惧和不宽容 --- 这些是宗教的特点. 我知道这力量可以带你实现伟大的东西. 但我知道在这地球表面上, 没有力量能比宗教激情更大, 更有破坏力.