Church can strengthen sport, Pope says in new letter

Titled “Life in Abundance”, the eight-page letter acknowledges the many dangers and distortions threatening the integrity of athletics and the dignity of players.

But the Church can help strengthen the needed harmony between people’s physical and spiritual development, so sport becomes a place “for athletes to learn to take care of themselves without falling prey to vanity, to push themselves to their limits without harming themselves and to compete without losing sight of fraternity”.

The need for holistic, integral human development is critical, Pope Leo wrote, because “the danger of narcissism . . . permeates the entire sporting culture today. Athletes can become obsessed with their physical image and with their own success, measured by visibility and approval.”

And sometimes sports can take on a “quasi-religious dimension” with athletes perceived as “saviours”, he wrote.

“When sport claims to replace religion, it loses its character as a game that benefits our lives, becoming instead aggrandised, all-encompassing and absolute.” 

Pope Leo asked nations to observe the Olympic Truce,  which is built on the belief that participating in public sport with a spirit of “virtue and excellence” promotes greater fraternity, solidarity and the common good.

Like his predecessors, Pope Leo highlighted the virtues of engaging in physical activity and competition as well as warning against current risks that threaten healthy values. Among topics mentioned in the letter were pastoral accompaniment, pay-to-play programmes, women in sport, artificial intelligence and video gaming.

The Pope asked that every national episcopal conference have an office or commission dedicated to sport and help unite parishes, schools, universities, oratories, associations and neighbourhoods in a “shared vision”.

He called for seeking out those “who have combined passion for sports, sensitivity to social issues and holiness”, such as St Pier Giorgio Frassati, who “perfectly combined faith, prayer, social commitment and sport”.

Pope Leo canonised the 24-year-old Italian on September 7 at the Vatican.

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Church can help sports by flexing values, strengthening human dignity, pope says | USCCB (By Carol Glatz/CNS)