At the end of the mass that he presided over the solemnity of the Blessed Trinity and that coincided with the jubilee of sport, Pope Leo XIV said that sport is a “way to build peace” and asked athletes to reject “all forms of violence.”
“Sport is a way to build peace, because it is a school of respect and loyalty, which makes the culture of the encounter and fraternity grow,” he said Sunday in the message he delivered during Regina Coeli.
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The Pontiff highlighted the educational value of sport and its ability to contribute to peace in a world marked by armed conflicts and violence.
“I urged to live sports activity, also at a competitive level, with a spirit of gratuitous, with a recreational spirit in the noble sense of the term,” he said.
Also, addressing athletes of all ages and backgrounds, the Holy Father encouraged them to reject “all forms of violence and oppression.” stressing that the lifestyle inspired by mutual respect and clean play is a concrete response to current challenges.
“Today’s world has a great need for it,” he warned.
During his speech, the Pope also denounced the situation in Myanmar, where “despite the ceases to the fire, the fighting continues, with damage to civil infrastructures.” He also called all the parties involved to undertake “the path of inclusive dialogue, the only one that can lead to a peaceful and stable solution.”
With deep consternation, Leo XIV lamented the massacre between June 13 and 14 in the city of Yelewata, in the Nigerian state of Penu, where “some 200 people were killed with extreme cruelty, most of them displaced internal welcomed by the local Catholic mission.”
“I pray,” he said, “to prevail security, justice and peace in Nigeria, a loved country and so beaten by various forms of violence.”
In this sense, it also raised a special prayer for the Christian and rural communities of the Nigerian State of Penu, “constant victims of violence.”
He also recalled the situation in Sudan, where the armed conflict has been extended for more than two years. The Pope reported with pain of the death of Father Luke Jumu, pastor of El Pasha, killed in a recent bombing. “I assure my prayers for him and for all the victims, and I renew my call to the fighters: stop, protect civilians and start a dialogue for peace,” he said. He also appealed to the international community to intensify efforts to provide basic humanitarian assistance to the population affected by the crisis.
Victoria Cardiel
Victoria Cardiel is a journalist specialized in social and religious information issues. Since 2013, he has covered all the news of the Vatican for various media, such as the Spanish news agency Europa Press, or the weekly of the Archdiocese of Madrid, Alfa and Omega.