Pope
meets Italy’s National Olympic Committee
(Vatican Radio) “Sports are at home in the Church” – that’s what
Pope Francis told managers and athletes of Italy’s National Olympic Committee
Friday. In a meeting in the Vatican, the Pope congratulated them on
Rome’s candidacy as a possible venue for the 2024 Olympics, but quipped; “I
won’t be here!”
He observed that
Italy’s National Olympic Committee celebrates its first centenary this year and
recalled that it draws inspiration from the fundamental values laid out in the
Olympic Charter, which places at the forefront the “centrality of the person and
the harmonious development of humankind, the defence of human dignity.”
He remarked that the Charter stipulates that sport can contribute to the
building of a better world, without wars and tensions, educating young people
through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind ... in a spirit of
friendship, solidarity and loyalty.
“Sport has always
favoured a universalism characterized by brotherhood and friendship among
peoples, peace and harmony among nations; by respect, tolerance, harmony of
diversity,” said the Pope. Sporting events, especially the Olympics, bring
together representatives of nations with different histories, cultures,
traditions, beliefs and values, he said. They can open “new routes,
sometimes unexpected,” in overcoming conflicts caused by the violation of
human rights.
“The Olympic motto -
"Citius, Altius, Fortius" - is not an incitement to the supremacy of
one nation over another, of one people over another people,” he
continued. It is a challenge we are all called to – not just athletes, he
added: “to make the effort, the sacrifice, to achieve important goals in life,
accepting one’s own limitations without being hampered by them but trying to
overcome them.”
The Pope encouraged
the Committee for its educational work to make sports accessible to everyone,
including the weakest and the poorest sections of society - inclusive of people
with different disabilities, foreigners, and those who live in the
outskirts. “Sport is not intended to profit, but to further the development
of the human person,” added the Pope.
He remarked that the
Committee was among the first to welcome an Olympic chaplain: “a friendly
presence” expressing the closeness of the Church and to stimulate in athletes a
strong sense of “professional spirituality.” He pointed to the Saints who
similarly demonstrated “passion, enthusiasm, perseverance, determination” in
meeting the challenge of faith. Pope Francis said St. Paul invites us to train
'in the true faith, because physical exercise is useful for a little, while
true faith is useful for all, bringing with it the promise of life – both
present and future.”
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