Pope fields message of genuine joy for Euro 2012

Church 'does not remain indifferent' to popular sporting event

Young soccer players present Pope Benedict XVI with a ball in 2005. (CNS)

Hosted by Poland and Ukraine, the top 16 footballing nations across the pond are striving to win the Henri Delaunay Trophy. Meanwhile, the Holy Father has blessed the quadrennial European soccer championship.

The papal message was translated from Polish into English by the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano:

My beloved predecessor Blessed John Paul II said sports are a 'significant vehicle for personal development and in building a more human society.' A sense of brotherhood, honesty and respect for one’s body — virtues that are undoubtedly essential for every good athlete — help to build a civil society where antagonism is replaced by healthy competition.

Team sports are an important school for teaching a  sense of  respect for others, the spirit of personal sacrifice, and how to overcome the logic of individualism and selfishness, in order to make room for the logic of brotherhood and love, which alone can enable the promotion — at all levels — of the true common good.

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