I apologize if I have awoken you, Sister," the abbé said, his own voice sounding groggy and on edge. "I have a favor to ask of you. I just received a call from an influential American bishop. Perhaps you know him? Manuel Aringarosa?"
"The head of Opus Dei?" Of course I know of him. Who in the Church doesn't? Aringarosa's conservative prelature had grown powerful in recent years. Their ascension to grace was jump-started in 1982 when Pope John Paul II unexpectedly elevated them to a "personal prelature of the Pope," officially sanctioning all of their practices. Suspiciously, Opus Dei's elevation occurred the same year the wealthy sect allegedly had transferred almost one billion dollars into the Vatican's Institute for Religious Works—commonly known as the Vatican Bank—bailing it out of an embarrassing bankruptcy. In a second maneuver that raised eyebrows, the Pope placed the founder of Opus Dei on the "fast track" for sainthood, accelerating an often century-long waiting period for canonization to a mere twenty years. Sister Sandrine could not help but feel that Opus Dei's good standing in Rome was suspect, but one did not argue with the Holy See.
"Bishop Aringarosa called to ask me a favor," the abbé told her, his voice nervous. "One of his numeraries is in Paris tonight...."
As Sister Sandrine listened to the odd request, she felt a deepening confusion. "I'm sorry, you say this visiting Opus Dei numerary cannot wait until morning?"
"I'm afraid not. His plane leaves very early. He has always dreamed of seeing Saint-Sulpice."
"But the church is far more interesting by day. The sun's rays through the oculus, the graduated shadows on the gnomon, this is what makes Saint-Sulpice unique."
"Sister, I agree, and yet I would consider it a personal favor if you could let him in tonight. He can be there at... say one o'clock? That's in twenty minutes."
Groggy 眩暈無力地
Prelature 主教
Oculus 眼睛
Gnomon 日晷
"對不起把你吵醒了，桑德琳。"修道院院長說。從聲音聽他本人也有些昏頭昏腦，心煩意亂。"我得請你幫個忙，我剛剛接到美國一位頗有影響的主教的電話。你可能知道他，曼努埃爾阿林加洛沙，知道嗎？"
"是天主事工會主教嗎？"教會中人誰會不知道他？阿林加洛沙保守的教派近年來愈來愈有勢力。1982 年教皇約翰保羅二世出人意料地將天主事工會提升為自己的個人直轄教派，正式恩准了他們所有的行為。從此，他們的地位突然飆升了許多。令人起疑的是，天主事工會地位提升的這一年，正是這個富有的教派被指控劃撥給通常被稱作梵蒂岡銀行的梵蒂岡宗教著作研究院十億美元，並將其從破產的窘境中挽救出來的那一年。第二件讓人蹙眉的事是，教皇把天主事工會創始人聖徒化的過程推上了"快車道"，把獲得"聖徒"的時限從通常的一個世紀縮短至二十年。桑德琳禁不住要懷疑天主事工會為什麼在羅馬有這麼高的地位，但一般人是不與神聖的羅馬教皇發生齟齬的。
"阿林加洛沙主教打電話要我幫忙。"修道院院長聲音緊張地告訴她說。"他的一個手下今晚到巴黎……"桑德琳聽著這個古怪的請求，感到丈二和尚摸不著頭腦。"對不起，你是說這個 天主事工會客人等天亮也等不及？"
"恐怕等不及。他的飛機很早就起飛了。他正期待著見到聖敘爾皮斯教堂。"
"但是白天看教堂要有意思得多。太陽的光線透過眼洞窗照射進來，逐漸傾斜的陰影落在圭表上，這些才是使聖敘爾皮斯教堂與眾不同之處呀。""桑德琳，這我知道，就算你幫我私人一個忙，今晚讓他進去。他可能差不多一點鐘到。也就是二十分鐘後。
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