“在哈里发时期,基督徒和犹太人的学者不仅备受尊崇,还被委以重任,并被提拔到政府中的高级职位……他(哈里发哈伦·拉希德)从不考虑学者属于哪个国家,也不考虑其信仰与信条,而只看他在学问领域的卓越程度。”——威廉·德雷珀博士 本笃十六世(Benedict XVI)——即枢机主教拉辛格(Cardinal Ratzinger)——的就任,引出了许多问题,这些问题可能会削弱他的教皇任期。其中最主要的是来自伊斯兰教的挑战,以及欧洲基督徒的世俗化。

“During the period of the Caliphs the learned men of the Christians and the Jews were not only held in great esteem but were appointed to posts of great responsibility, and were promoted to the high ranking job in the government....He (Caliph Haroon Rasheed) never considered to which country a learned person belonged nor his faith and belief, but only his excellence in the field of learning.” -- Dr. William Draper he inauguration of Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI has brought to the fore a host of issues, which threaten to undermine his papacy. Chief among them is the challenge from Islam and the secularization of Christians in Europe.

梵蒂冈在如何应对伊斯兰教的问题上意见有所分歧。

The Vatican is somewhat divided on how to tackle Islam.

一些枢机主教赞成与温和派穆斯林接触，并缓和梵蒂冈对伊斯兰教的态度。耶稣会士、教廷格里高利大学神学教授基思·F·佩克勒斯神父说："下一任教宗需要能够与世界上不同宗教对话的人，尤其是与伊斯兰教对话……伊斯兰教正在崛起，而基督教至少在发达国家正在衰落。"这一做法让人想起教宗若望保禄二世所阐述的立场。1986年，他成为第一位访问穆斯林国家的教宗。

Some cardinals are in the favour of reaching out to moderate Muslims and tapering the Vatican’ s attitudes towards Islam. “The next pope will need to be someone capable of dialoguing with the different religions of the world, and particularly Islam… Islam is on the rise, and Christianity, at least in the developed world, is in decline”, said the Rev. Keith F. Pecklers, a Jesuit professor of theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. This approach is reminiscent of the one articulated by Pope John Paul II who in 1986 became the first pope to visit a Muslim country.

在访问摩洛哥期间，他说：“我们信奉同一位上帝，那唯一的上帝，他创造了世界，并使其中的万物臻于完善。”由此，与伊斯兰教进行宗教间对话的主张应运而生。在接下来的二十年里，这一主张规定了梵蒂冈与伊斯兰世界之间的关系。

During the visit to Morocco he said, “We believe in the same God, the one and the only God, who created the world and brought its creatures to perfection.” Hence the doctrine of inter-faith dialogue with Islam was born. For the next twenty years this doctrine defined the relations between the Vatican and the Islamic world.

其他枢机主教则主张对伊斯兰教采取强硬得多的立场。《国家天主教报》(National Catholic Reporter)驻梵蒂冈记者约翰·艾伦(John Allen)怀疑世上是否真有“温和的伊斯兰教”。艾伦表示:“[枢机主教们]认为所需要的是严厉的爱。最可怕的情景是,有朝一日我们醒来时,圣地已经没有基督徒了。”这一群体所表达的观点,似乎与教宗本笃十六世(Pope Benedict XVI)的立场一致。不久前,他还嗤之以鼻地看待土耳其加入基督教欧洲的想法。去年八月,拉青格说:“纵观历史,土耳其始终代表着一个与欧洲永久对立的不同大陆。让这两个大陆变得相同将是一个错误。”早在2004年11月,拉青格就批评穆斯林将伊斯兰教政治化,并强调穆斯林有许多东西需要向基督教学习。

Other cardinals prefer a much tougher stance towards Islam. John Allen, the Vatican correspondent of the National Catholic Reporter, is sceptical that there is such a thing as moderate Islam. “They [cardinals] think what is needed is tough love. The nightmare scenario is that one day we’ ll wake up and the Holy Land will be empty of Christians”, Allen said. The views expressed by this group appear to be in unison with Pope Benedict XVI, who not so long ago scoffed at the idea of Turkey joining Christian Europe. Last August, Ratzinger said, “In the course of history, Turkey has always represented a different continent, in permanent contrast to Europe. Making the two continents identical would be a mistake.” Back in November 2004, Ratzinger criticized Muslims for politicizing Islam and stressed that Muslims had a great deal to learn from Christianity.

拉青格说："穆斯林应当向基督教文化学习宗教自由的重要性，以及教会与国家的分离。"在现实世界中，梵蒂冈对伊斯兰教所构成挑战的估计不仅被夸大了，而且与世界上约十亿天主教徒所受世俗主义的影响相比微不足道。更大的威胁是欧洲天主教徒的世俗化，其程度明显高于其他任何大洲。据《欧洲价值观研究》（该项调查于1999年至2000年进行，两年前发表）显示，只有21%的欧洲人表示宗教对他们"非常重要"。而美国皮尤宗教与公共生活论坛进行的类似调查，这一比例接近60%。

Ratzinger said, “Muslims should learn from the Christian culture the importance of religious freedom, and the separation between church and state.” In the real world, the challenges posed by Islam are not only overstated by the Vatican, but are miniscule in comparison to the influence of secularism on the world’ s billion or so Catholics. A far greater threat is the secularization of Catholics in Europe, which is significantly higher than any other continent. Only 21 percent of Europeans say that religion is "very important" to them, according to the European Values Study, conducted in 1999 and 2000 and published two years ago. A similar survey in the United States by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life put the number at nearly 60 percent.

除此之外，欧洲各地的礼拜参与人数也大幅下降。

Beyond that, Mass attendance has significantly declined throughout Europe.

在荷兰的天主教徒中，只有10%，12

Among Catholics, only 10 percent in the Netherlands, 12

...法国的百分之……，德国和奥地利的百分之15，以及百分之18

percent in France, 15 percent in Germany and Austria, 18

percent 在西班牙、25 percent 在意大利每周参加弥撒。因此，有些天主教徒对世俗化欧洲中基督教的未来表示极度担忧，也就不足为奇了。“有些人看着欧洲，认为它在精神上已经疲惫，甚至已经死亡，”在罗马圣十字architecture教廷大学任教的约翰·沃克神父（Rev. John Wauck）说道。

percent in Spain and 25 percent in Italy attend weekly Mass. Therefore it is not surprising to find some Catholics voicing extreme concerns for the future of Christianity in a secular Europe. “Some people look at Europe and see it spiritually tired, if not dead,” said the Rev. John Wauck, who teaches at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.

除了欧洲日渐减少的基督徒人口之外,梵蒂冈面临的主要威胁来自一股世俗原教旨主义势力,他们执意把天主教的真理重新定义为谬误。天主教关于女性担任神父、避孕、堕胎、同性婚姻、同性伴侣收养子女、安乐死以及圣诞节商业化的教导,首当其冲地承受着这场冲击。对此趋势发表评论时,Wauck表示,欧盟似乎已被“激进的世俗文化”所“感染”。Ratzinger在枢机主教团开始选举新教宗之前数小时也作出了类似的判断。他说:“我们正走向相对主义的独裁……它不承认任何确定之物,只把个人的自我和个人的欲望当作最终的标准。” 如今Ratzinger已正式就任新教宗,他必须决定如何最好地保护天主教及其价值观。他眼下的首要关切,以及选举他的枢机主教们的关切,是争取那些为了不可知论的生活方式而疏远天主教的人。

Apart from the dwindling Christian population in Europe, the principal threat to the Vatican comes from the direction of secular fundamentalists who are adamant in recasting catholic truths as falsehoods. Catholic teachings regarding the inauguration of women priests, birth control, abortion, gay marriages, adoption by same-sex couples, euthanasia and the commercialization of Christmas bear the brunt of this onslaught. Commenting on this trend, Wauck said that the union (European Union) seems to be “infected” with a “radically secular culture”. Ratzinger delivered similar assessment hours before the conclave got underway to elect the new pope. He said, ”We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism . . . that recognizes nothing definite and leaves only one’ s own ego and one’ s own desires as the final measure.” Now that Ratzinger has been officially installed as the new Pope he must decide on how best to protect Catholicism and its values. His immediate concern and those of the cardinals who elected him is to win over those who have shunned Catholicism in preference for an agnostic life-style.

为了完成这一使命，教皇本笃十六世不能与世俗的世界权力结盟，也不能依赖世界上任何世俗机构来捍卫基督教信仰。

To accomplish this feat, Pope Benedict XVI cannot ally himself with the secular powers of the world or rely on any of the world’ s secular institutions to defend the Christian faith.

世俗主义及其信奉者虽然是犹太-基督教历史的产物,却对捍卫基督教乃至任何宗教都不感兴趣。例如,2002年5月,尽管教宗若望保禄二世和其他基督教教派的领袖强烈呼吁,布什总统仍未采取任何措施阻止以色列炮击耶稣诞生堂。

Secularism and its practitioners despite being a by-product of Judaeo-Christian history are not interested in defending Christianity or for that matter any faith. For instance, in May 2002 President Bush did nothing to prevent Israel from shelling the Church of Nativity, despite strong appeals from Pope John Paul II and leaders of other Christian sects.

同样，在2003年美国入侵伊拉克之前，布什总统拒绝会见反对这场战争的福音派基督徒，却继续接见石油公司的游说者。

Similarly, before the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, President Bush refused to meet evangelical Christians who were opposed to the war, but continued to entertain lobbyist from oil companies.

宗教以及信奉宗教信仰的人,是世俗原教旨主义者眼中的眼中钉,只是勉强被容忍。那些希望保留自身宗教身份的信徒,在世俗社会中成为辱骂的对象。世俗当局利用媒体和政治等工具,不断地打压那些抵制世俗价值观的人。这种情形一直持续,直到他们屈服,或改变自己的信仰以符合世俗主义者的唯物主义世界观为止。

Religion and people who profess religious beliefs is an anathema to secularist fundamentalists and are barely tolerated. The people of faith who wish to retain their religious identity become the object of abuse within secular societies. Secular authorities utilize instruments such as the media and the political medium to constantly hound those that resist secular values. This continues until they capitulate or change their beliefs to conform to the materialistic worldview of the secularists.

天主教以及其他基督教信仰在欧洲等西方世俗国家的庇护下遭受了极大的伤害。世俗主义者躲在“言论自由”和“宗教自由”的幌子之后，不断地攻击天主教，并迫使罗马教会改变其观点和做法。如今，天主教的教义与真理几乎已难以辨认，面临即将消亡的危险，除非梵蒂冈对世俗势力采取坚定的立场。

Catholicism as well as other Christian faiths has suffered immensely under the patronage of secular western states, particularly European states. Retreating behind the veil of ‘freedom of speech’ , and ‘freedom of religion’ , secularists have relentlessly abused Catholicism and forced the Roman Church to adapt its views and practices. Today, Catholic teachings and truths are scarcely recognizable and face imminent extinction, unless the Vatican takes a firm stand against the secular powers.

与犹太教、印度教、锡克教以及其他基督教宗派结盟，并不能改变罗马教会的命运。这些宗教无力抵挡世俗主义这一具有威胁性的意识形态，它们也已沦为世俗势力的猎物。原因有二。第一，它们都建立在一种情感性的信条之上，缺乏挑战世俗主义意识形态所需的理智活力。第二，它们所依据的信条只能提供关于人类存在的精神视角，无法提出一套真正可以替代世俗主义的社会政治生活体系。

Forming an alliance with other world faiths such as Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism and other Christian denominations will not alter the fate of the Roman Church. These religions are unable to stand up to the menacing ideology of secularism and they too have fallen prey to the secular powers. This is because of two reasons. First, they are all founded on an emotional creed that does not possess the intellectual dynamism to challenge the ideology of secularism. Second, they are based on creeds that only offer a spiritual perspective on human existence and are unable to present a social-political system of life that is a real alternative to secularism.

伊斯兰是世界上唯一能够抵制世俗主义、并真正保护不同信仰者的意识形态。伊斯兰之所以能够做到这一点，是因为其核心是一种精神与政治兼备的信条：它为信徒提供精神滋养，并提供一套全面的社会政治体系，在这一体系中，穆斯林与非穆斯林在法律面前一律平等。

Islam is the sole ideology in the world that is able to counter secularism and offer genuine protection to people belonging to different faiths. Islam is able to achieve this, because at its heart is a spiritual and political creed that provides spiritual nourishment to its adherents and offers a comprehensive social-political system, where Muslims and non-Muslims are treated equally before the law.

在过去，伊斯兰教被切实实施之时，例如在伊斯兰统治下的西班牙，居住在西班牙城市托莱多、科尔多瓦和格拉纳达的犹太人、基督徒和穆斯林，享有无与伦比的宽容与繁荣。马丁·休姆在其著作《西班牙人》中写道："新统治者身边，基督徒与犹太人和平相处。后者凭借商业与工业而富足，乐于让他们曾受哥特人神职统治压迫的记忆沉睡。"

In the past, when Islam was implemented practically, as in Islamic Spain, Jews, Christians and Muslims living in the Spanish cities of Toledo, Cordoba and Granada, enjoyed unrivalled tolerance and prosperity. Martin Hume wrote in his book Spanish Peopleiv: “Side by side with the new rulers lived the Christians and Jews in peace. The latter rich with commerce and industry were content to let the memory of their oppression by the priest-ridden Goths sleep”.

然而,1492年天主教双王伊莎贝拉与费迪南德执掌西班牙后,他们并未以宽容相报,反而着手将西班牙的犹太人和穆斯林驱逐殆尽。类似的残暴行径,在教皇的祝福下,也曾发生在穆斯林统治的其他地区,例如西西里岛和耶路撒冷。

However, when the Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand took charge of Spain in 1492, they did not reciprocate tolerance but proceeded to expunge Spain of its Jewish and Muslim populace. Similar acts of cruelty with the blessing of the Pope were carried out in other lands controlled by Muslims such as the island of Sicily and Jerusalem.

如今，伊斯兰世界正经历一场从世俗主义向伊斯兰的激烈转变。整个伊斯兰世界的穆斯林都在反抗西方列强及其代理人强加于他们的世俗秩序。穆斯林日夜努力，要推翻这些世俗专制政权，并在其废墟之上重建哈里发制度。哈里发制度一经建立，那些在世俗政权下长期被剥夺权利的数百万基督徒，其权利将得到全面恢复。正如过去的哈里发国一样，基督教的信仰与教义将受到保护。历史证明，与罗马帝国和当今的世俗秩序不同，哈里发统治下的基督教教义与教导并未为了迎合伊斯兰价值观而被改变。

Today the Islamic world is experiencing a radical transformation from secularism to Islam. Muslims across the Islamic world are rebelling against the secular order that has been forcibly imposed upon them by western powers and their surrogates. Muslims are working day and night to over throw these secular autocracies and to re-establish the Caliphate on their ruins. With the establishment of the Caliphate, millions of Christians who were previously denied their rights under the secular regimes will have their rights restated in full. And like in the Caliphates of the past, Christian beliefs and teaching will be protected. History bears witness that unlike the Roman Empire and the secular order of today, Christian doctrines and teachings were not changed under the Caliphate to agree with Islamic values.

鑑於上述背景,教宗本篤十六世若能重新考慮他對伊斯蘭教和穆斯林世界的立場,將是明智之舉。新任教宗不應對伊斯蘭教和穆斯林採取嚴厲態度,而應支持伊斯蘭世界各地穆斯林推翻世俗政權、重建哈里發制度的權利。如此,教宗將拯救天主教,保護其在穆斯林世界中教友的權利,並為未來與哈里發國的關係送上吉兆。

Against this background it would be wise for Pope Benedict XVI to reconsider his position towards Islam and the Muslim world. Instead of opting for a harsh stance against Islam and Muslims, the new pope should support the right of Muslims across the Islamic world to overthrow their secular regimes and re-establish the Caliphate. In this way, the pope will be saving Catholicism, protecting the rights of his flock in the Muslim world and sending a good omen for future relations with the Caliphate.

2005年5月7日

May 07, 2005