Thursday, January 10, 2008
Pope backs the Beautiful Game
Pope Benedict XVI, not normally thought of as a football fan, has said that the Beautiful Game can teach young people important lessons for life.
Speaking to Giancarlo Abete, head of the Italian football league, and a delegation from Serie D clubs, the Pope said at his weekly audience that despite corruption scandals and hooliganism, football could "increasingly be the vehicle of the values of honesty, solidarity and fraternity''.
William Punghellini, spokesman for the 162 Serie D clubs, said the league's work with youth teams helped to foster the values praised by the Pope.
The clubs donated to the Vatican money they had saved by a decision not to buy Christmas presents. Vatican officials said it would go to help Bangladeshi flood victims.
The late Pope John Paul II was an ardent football fan who as a young man played in goal in his native Poland.
Pope Benedict is not known to have played the game, but has encouraged a Vatican football tournament called the Clericus Cup and is said to support Bayern Munich, the leading team in his native Bavaria.
Speaking to Giancarlo Abete, head of the Italian football league, and a delegation from Serie D clubs, the Pope said at his weekly audience that despite corruption scandals and hooliganism, football could "increasingly be the vehicle of the values of honesty, solidarity and fraternity''.
William Punghellini, spokesman for the 162 Serie D clubs, said the league's work with youth teams helped to foster the values praised by the Pope.
The clubs donated to the Vatican money they had saved by a decision not to buy Christmas presents. Vatican officials said it would go to help Bangladeshi flood victims.
The late Pope John Paul II was an ardent football fan who as a young man played in goal in his native Poland.
Pope Benedict is not known to have played the game, but has encouraged a Vatican football tournament called the Clericus Cup and is said to support Bayern Munich, the leading team in his native Bavaria.
