VATICAN CITY, DEC 11, 2000 (VIS) - Pope John Paul this morning welcomed the members of the executive committee of FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football, and told them that they have "a global responsibility, with more than 200 countries and 120 million players involved," and "an immense power ... (that) must be used for the good of the human family."
"You are administrators, certainly, but you are educators as well, since sport can inculcate many higher values such as loyalty, friendship and team spirit," he said. "It is true that football's financial success can help to sustain praiseworthy new initiatives, such as FIFA's 'Charity Project'. But it can also contribute to a culture of selfishness and greed. That is why the finer values of sport must be emphasized and passed on through the bodies represented in your federation."
The Holy Father, speaking in English, pointed out that "as a sport shared by people of different ethnic, racial, economic and social backgrounds, football is an excellent means of promoting the solidarity so greatly needed in a world deeply affected by ethnic and racial tensions. ... Sport is educational because it takes human impulses, even potentially negative ones, and turns them to good purpose. The young can learn to have healthy competition without conflict. ... I express the earnest hope that FIFA will continue at all levels to tackle the problem of violence, which does so much harm to the game."
In concluding, the Pope stressed that "for all its importance as an education for the great challenges of life, football remains a game. It is a form of play, both simple and complex, in which people take joy in the wonderful possibilities of human life - physical, social and spiritual."
"You are administrators, certainly, but you are educators as well, since sport can inculcate many higher values such as loyalty, friendship and team spirit," he said. "It is true that football's financial success can help to sustain praiseworthy new initiatives, such as FIFA's 'Charity Project'. But it can also contribute to a culture of selfishness and greed. That is why the finer values of sport must be emphasized and passed on through the bodies represented in your federation."
The Holy Father, speaking in English, pointed out that "as a sport shared by people of different ethnic, racial, economic and social backgrounds, football is an excellent means of promoting the solidarity so greatly needed in a world deeply affected by ethnic and racial tensions. ... Sport is educational because it takes human impulses, even potentially negative ones, and turns them to good purpose. The young can learn to have healthy competition without conflict. ... I express the earnest hope that FIFA will continue at all levels to tackle the problem of violence, which does so much harm to the game."
In concluding, the Pope stressed that "for all its importance as an education for the great challenges of life, football remains a game. It is a form of play, both simple and complex, in which people take joy in the wonderful possibilities of human life - physical, social and spiritual."
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