Pope, an avid athlete, extols physical and spiritual benefits of sport in Olympic message

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV, an avid tennis player and sports fan, marked the start of the Winter Games on Friday by extolling the positive values of sport and fair play while warning that the pursuit of profits and performance risked corrupting sport entirely.

In a message entitled “Life in Abundance” issued on the same day as the Milan Cortina opening ceremony, Leo traced the history of Christian philosophers and popes who identified sports and physical activity as beneficial for both physical and spiritual development.

And he repeated his call for world leaders to respect the ancient tradition of an Olympic truce.

But drawing on his own experience as an athlete, Leo delved into a nuanced exploration of the value of sports and the risk when the “dictatorship of performance” posed by doping, match-fixing and other forms of corruption win out over fair play.

“Such dishonesty not only corrupts sporting activities themselves, but also demoralizes the general public and undermines the positive contribution of sport to society as a whole,” he warned.

Popes have a long history of engaging the sporting world to promote values of peace, solidarity, and friendship, with the Olympics offering them regular opportunities to recall the ancient tradition of an Olympic truce.

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