The village experience that comes from sportWhat is the basic idea and purpose of the congress? "Sport for all. Cohesive, accessible and tailored to each person."the international meeting scheduled for September 29-30 at the Vatican, promoted by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, in collaboration with the Dicastery for Culture and Education and the John Paul II Foundation for Sport?
If we pay attention to the image that accompanies this writing, we can already find the answer in the logo of the event, which ultimately identifies the practice of sport as an instrument of encounter, formation, mission and sanctification. Through three main axes "cohesion", with which to bring professional sport closer to grassroots sport, counteracting the dynamics that tend to separate them (in the logo, legs and arms intertwined as a sign of unity among people); "accessibility", that is, facilitating the possibility for people to practice sport, reducing social and cultural obstacles; suitable for all people to ensure participation in sport for everyone, including people with physical, intellectual, mental and sensory disabilities (a disability symbol has been stylized to include all people with fragile conditions).
Figures and institutions in the world of sports
The summit will be attended by numerous witnesses, athletes, coaches, but also associations and representatives of various Christian denominations and other religions. At the end, in the presence of Pope Francis, the participants will be invited to sign the "Declaration on Sport", that is, the commitment to promote more and more - within their respective institutions and in synergy among them - the social and inclusive dimension of the culture and practice of sport. This invitation will be extended to all the realities of sport, starting with those inspired by the Christian vision of the person and of sport itself, participating through the Internet.
With the involvement of the main sports and intergovernmental institutions and organizations, this appointment - explains the promoting Dicastery - continues the path that began in October 2016 with the international meeting "Sport at the service of humanity", followed later by "Giving the best of oneself", the document published at the beginning of June 2018 with which the Holy See addresses the theme in its entirety for the first time. "Giving the best of oneself in sport is also a call to aspire to holiness." So writes the Holy Father in the introductory letter of the document, which consists of five chapters, with the aim of offering a Christian perspective on sport, addressing those who practice it, those who watch it as spectators, those who live it as coaches, referees, trainers, families, priests and parishes.
The two-day event at the Vatican is therefore part of the centuries-long relationship between the Successor of Peter, the Holy See and the entire Church and sport and, in particular, responds to Pope Francis' call for its social, educational and spiritual projection.
The role of sport
Alexandre Awi Mello, ISch - Secretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life - recalled the role and function of sport, which, far from pursuing biemensensory interests, is called to "place the human person at the center in the framework of the community of which he or she is a part, overcoming the temptations of corruption and commercialization. In the name of friendshipThe "free play and gratuity, goods that the policy (regional, national and international) must protect and consolidate".
At the core are the reflections that Pope Francis pronounced at the "Sportweek" at the beginning of 2021, which can be summarized in 7 key concepts:
- Loyalty. "Sport is respect for the rules but also the fight against doping, the practice of which is also wanting to rob God of that spark that, by his designs, he has given to some in a special way."
- Commitment. "Talent is nothing without application."
- Sacrifice. "Sacrifice is a term that sport shares with religion. The athlete is a bit like the saint: he knows fatigue but it doesn't weigh on him."
- Inclusion. "Always a sign of inclusion, in the face of a culture of racism, the Olympic Games express the innate desire to build bridges rather than walls.".
- Team spirit. "Teamwork is essential in the logic of sport. Think of Moses who, on the mountain, tells God to save the people too, not just him (Ex 32).".
- Ascesis. "Great feats lead us to think of the sporting act as a kind of ascesis: climbing eight thousand meters, plunging into the abyss, crossing oceans as attempts to seek a different dimension.".
- Redemption. "To say sport is to say redemption, the possibility of redemption for all men. It is not enough to dream of success, you have to work hard. That's why sport is full of people who, with the sweat of their brow, have beaten those who were born with talent in their pockets."
