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John Paul II Knew Role of Sports
29-07-2008
VATICAN CITY, JULY 28, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Because Pope John Paul II understood just how important a role sports play in our culture, he addressed the topic in some 120 addresses.
Bishop Carlo Mazza of Fidenza, consultor of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, noted this as he presented the John Paul II Foundation for Sports today in the Vatican.
The honorary president of the Vatican foundation explained that the organization, which will run under the auspices of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, will promote the values of the Gospel through sports.
The foundation will elaborated a three-year program to promote values such as good sportsmanship at international sporting events, as well as parish-based initiatives
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, sent a telegram for the presentation, exhorting the founders to promote human and Christian values through sports.
"With his extraordinary intuition, John Paul II understood immediately the value of sport precisely in our present cultural moment," explained Bishop Mazza, who before becoming bishop was chaplain of the Italian delegation to the last Olympics and in the Mediterranean Games.
"Hence, it is not about making sport an absolute value, which would be incomprehensible, but of being based on factual data, in the experience and global extension of the sporting event. It is an endeavor to perceive the positive events to interpret them in the light of the faith," clarified the prelate.
Bishop Mazza recalled that John Paul II addressed the subject of sport in 120 speeches and messages.
Given the Pauline Year, the foundation's first undertaking will be a series of marathons to take place between Bethlehem and Rome. The marathons will begin next April 24 and end June 21 in St. Peter's Square.
Edio Costantini, the foundation's president, explained that one of the main objectives of the foundation is to relaunch parishes' educational venues.
Also attending the presentation was Bishop Josef Clemens, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
