Vatican
City, 23 November 2013 (VIS) – The language of sport is “universal,
and overcomes borders, barriers of language, race, religion and
ideology” and is capable of “uniting people, favouring dialogue
and openness”, Pope Francis said to delegates from the European
Olympic Committees, whom he received in audience this morning in the
Sala Clementina, on the occasion of their assembly.
“Indeed,
the practice of sport stimulates one to healthily overcome oneself
and one's own selfishness and to train oneself in the spirit of
sacrifice and ... promotes loyalty in interpersonal relationships,
friendship, and respect for rules”, continued the Holy Father,
encouraging the institutions and organisations of this sector to
offer, especially to the younger generations, “approaches to sport
for training in peace, in sharing and the co-existence of peoples”.
“Sporting
activity typically unites rather than divides. Even the five
interlinked rings, the symbol and flag of the Olympic Games,
represent precisely the spirit of brotherhood that should
characterise the Olympic events and sports competitions in general”,
he observed, adding that “When sport is regarded solely within
economic parameters, or in terms of the achievement of victory at any
cost, there is the risk of reducing athletes to mere merchandise
through whom profit may be obtained. The athletes themselves enter
into a mechanism that overwhelms them, causing them to lose sight of
the true meaning of their activity. … Sport is harmony, but if the
unrestrained pursuit of profit and success prevails, this harmony is
lost”.
“As
Olympic managers, you are called upon promote the educational aspect
of sport”, concluded the Pope. “We are all aware of the great
need to train sportsmen and women who are driven by probity, moral
rigour and a lively sense of responsibility”.
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