布宜诺斯艾利斯——教皇利奥十四世即将访问阿根廷，这是39年来首次教皇访问，对于前任教皇方济各的故乡来说，这算是一种安慰奖。方济各作为教皇期间从未回国，令同胞们失望。
BUENOS AIRES – Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming trip to Argentina, the first papal visit in 39 years, is a sort of consolation prize for the homeland of predecessor Francis, who disappointed his compatriots by never returning as pontiff.
在布宜诺斯艾利斯大教堂入口处，一台电视屏幕播放着已故教皇方济各亲吻信徒双脚的画面。他曾在那里担任大主教长达15年。
At the entrance to Buenos Aires Cathedral, where the late Pope Francis served as archbishop for 15 years, a TV screen shows images of him kissing the feet of the faithful.
旁边，一张海报宣传美国出生的利奥将于11月9日在布宜诺斯艾利斯举行的露天弥撒，这是他南美洲之行的第二站。拉丁美洲首位教皇方济各的记忆，笼罩着其继任者的此次访问。对于23岁的索尔·布尔戈斯来说，他的到来是一种慰藉。
Next to it, a poster advertises the open-air mass that US-born Leo will celebrate on Nov 9 in Buenos Aires, on the second-leg of his South American tour. The memory of Francis, Latin America’s first pope, looms large over the visit of his successor. For 23-year-old Sol Burgos, his arrival is a source of solace.
“阿根廷失去自己的教皇，深感伤痛，”她在大教堂门口对法新社记者说。
“Argentina was deeply hurt to lose its pope,” she told AFP at the door of the cathedral.
但教皇利奥与世界上最天主教的大陆保持着密切联系，多年来作为传教士，随后又在秘鲁担任大主教，这有助于平稳过渡，她说。“谢天谢地，新教皇也与拉丁美洲有联系！”避免“政治地震”方济各在担任全球14亿天主教徒领袖的12年里，访问了拉丁美洲的多个国家，包括邻国巴西。
But Pope Leo’s close ties to the world’s most Catholic continent, cultivated over long years as a missionary and then archbishop in Peru, helped smooth the transition, she said. “Thank God the new pope has also had a connection with Latin America!”Avoiding ‘political earthquake’Francis visited several countries in Latin America, including neighboring Brazil, during his 12 years as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
但他刻意避开了自己的国家，这一缺席令许多人失望，并引发了持续不断的猜测，探讨其原因。
But he studiously avoided his own, an absence that disappointed many and fuelled ongoing speculation about why.
最普遍的看法是，他担心一次访问会被视为支持分裂性的中左翼庇隆主义运动，该运动在他教皇任期的大部分时间里执政，直到2023年自由派总统哈维尔·米莱获胜。
The most widely held view is that he feared a visit would be seen as endorsing the divisive centre-left Peronist movement in power for much of his papacy, until Libertarian President Javier Milei’s win in 2023.
“他不能来，也不想来，”73岁的鲁本·洛萨诺在最近一次访问首都时说。他来自北部圣菲省。
“He couldn’t or didn’t want to come,” Ruben Lozano, a 73-year-old from the northern province of Santa Fe, said on a recent visit to the capital.
“为了避免造成分裂，他（方济各）对自己说：‘好吧，我暂时不去阿根廷，一切都将保持和平。’”米莱在成为总统之前曾多次抨击方济各对资本主义的批评及其被认为的左翼政治立场，他持同样的观点。
“In order to avoid creating divisions he (Francis) said to himself: ‘OK, I won’t go to Argentina for the moment and everything will remain peaceful’.”Milei, who before becoming president copiously attacked Francis over his criticisms of capitalism and perceived leftist political stances, took the same view.
“我毫不怀疑教皇方济各想来，我认为他不来是因为他知道，如果他来了，将引发政治地震，”米莱去年10月在接受阿根廷米特雷广播电台采访时说。
“I have no doubt that Pope Francis wanted to come, and I think he didn’t come because he knew that if he did, it would cause a political earthquake,” Milei told Argentina’s Radio Mitre in October.
在2023年的一本长篇访谈录中，方济各认为教皇是一个政治角色，但他在政党政治问题上划下了底线。
In a 2023 book-length interview, Francis argued being pope was a political role but that he drew the line at party politics.
现任布宜诺斯艾利斯总主教豪尔赫·加西亚·库埃瓦淡化了现任和前任梵蒂冈领导人之间的比较。
The current archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Garcia Cuerva, has downplayed comparisons between the current and former Vatican leaders.
“彼得（被视为第一位教皇）的继任者来了，而不是方济各的继任者，”他去年8月说。
“The successor of Peter (regarded as the first pope) is coming, not the successor of Francis,” he said in August.
修补分裂 利奥将于11月8日从乌拉圭抵达，米莱将在飞机脚下迎接他。
Mending divisions Leo will be greeted by Milei at the foot of his plane when he arrives on Nov 8 from Uruguay.
在首都举行一场盛大的露天弥撒后，他将前往中部城市科尔多瓦以及布宜诺斯艾利斯附近一座每年吸引数百万朝圣者的大教堂。上一位访问阿根廷的教皇是1987年的若望保禄二世。
After a giant open-air mass in the capital, he will travel to the central city of Cordoba and to a basilica near Buenos Aires that attracts millions of pilgrims each year. The last pope to visit Argentina was John Paul II in 1987.
加西亚·库埃瓦将新的教皇访问视为修补阿根廷社会分裂的机会，即贫富之间、左右之间的分裂。
Garcia Cuerva has billed the new papal visit as a chance to mend divisions in Argentine society, between the rich and poor, left and right.
利奥将抵达一个在三年紧缩政策后备受煎熬的国家——这是米莱为纠正多年超支和高通胀所采取的“药方”。
Leo will land in a country reeling after three years of biting austerity – Milei’s cure for years of overspending and rampant inflation.
天主教会严厉批评了米莱大幅削减预算和放松监管所让穷人付出的代价。
The Catholic Church has fiercely criticised the price paid by the poor for Milei’s swingeing budget cuts and deregulation.
效仿方济各的做法，利奥将穷人和边缘群体置于其教皇职位的中心。
Taking a leaf from Francis’s book, Leo has put the poor and marginalised at the center of his papacy.
“我认为利奥是方济各在梵蒂冈和教会留下的印记的一种延续……”，洛萨诺说。
“I see Leo as a sort of continuation... of the imprint that Francis left on the Vatican and the church,” said Lozano.