ATHLETES CAN TRANSMIT VALUABLE MESSAGES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 30, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in the Paul VI Hall, John Paul II received 7,000 directors, sports people and members of the Roman football team, "Associazione Sportiva Roma Calcio," who came to the Vatican to gain the Jubilee indulgence.

"For you, dear friends," said the Holy Father, "the fact that your association bears the name of Rome, represents a special commitment to live the Christian faith coherently. It is an invitation to bear daily witness, in your own environment, to evangelical love."

When lived in an appropriate way, sport becomes "the ideal environment for the exercise of numerous virtues." However, "it becomes a phenomenon of alienation when feats of ability and physical strength turn into idolatry of the body; when heightened competition reaches the point of considering the adversary as an enemy to be humiliated; when support for a team prevents objective evaluation of people and events, above all, when this degenerates into violence. Furthermore, a predominant commercial interest can turn sport into a mere search for economic gain."

The Pope highlighted a further aspect that "must not be overlooked," that of "the due sanctity of feast days" and the need for families to pass "moments of beneficial relaxation" together.

With reference to football, John Paul II affirmed that "at times, it becomes an occasion for confrontation with worrying episodes of intolerance and aggressiveness that can turn into grievous displays of violence. How important it is, then, to recall proper sporting ethics! How urgent is the responsibility of directors, of athletes, of journalists and of fans!" He concluded by indicating that athletes, "by their example, can transmit messages of great human and spiritual value."

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