VOA标准英语2013--Benedict Bids Farewell; Cardinals Face A Difficult Choice

（单词翻译）

Benedict Bids Farewell; Cardinals¹ Face A Difficult Choice

Pope Benedict is bidding farewell and preparing for the time when he will no longer lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

But Vatican officials say that as "pope emeritus²" he will still wear a pontifical³ robe.

"He will wear a simple white cassock without the mozzeta, I think it is called, the little cape⁴ on top, a simple white cassock," Rosica said.

Benedict leaves his successor with contentious⁵ issues - corruption⁶ and clerical sex scandals, and declining church attendance in developed countries.

To deal with these challenges, the Vatican needs to shed its doctrinaire⁷ approach, says Reverend Thomas Reese of Georgetown University's Woodstock Theological Center.

"Pope Benedict said it very well when he said that Christianity should be presented not as a series of 'nos' like a nagging⁸ mother, but as a series of 'yeses.' A yes to Jesus, a yes to love, to peace to justice," Reese said.

Over the next few weeks, 115 cardinals from around the world will choose the next pontiff at a conclave⁹ in Rome.

Benedict and his predecessor¹⁰ John Paul II were selected on the basis of their superior intelligence, says the Jesuit priest.

"Should we repeat that? Should they look around and say, 'Okay, who's the smartest man in the room? We're going to elect him.' Or, should they look around and say, 'Let's find the man who will listen to all the other smart people in the church,'" Reese said.

Some Catholics say the next pope should hail from Africa where Catholicism is growing rapidly, while others believe he should come from Europe or America, where the church faces its most serious challenges.