By Kielce Gussie 

In a message commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Italian newspaper, Corriere dello Sport-Stadio, on October 20, Pope Francis celebrated the news outlet’s work, saying, “You have run a beauitful race over these hundred years.”

Sports as a safe space

The Pope reflected on his own memories of playing football as a child in Argentina. He described the sport as an experience of the “sense of fraternity,” because friends would play “knowing only opponents on the field, never enemies.”

Sports offer lessons in life, he said, as players learn from the highs of winning, the effort it takes to win, and the loss of defeat.

Pope Francis used the example of a Salesian priest in Argentina, Fr. Lorenzo Massa, who opened the doors of the parish oratory to boys to play soccer.

The Pope also stressed the need to continue to have safe places to play sports.

He then explained how important it is to have “adults who genuinely welcome children and young people, who listen to their dreams and wish for a better future alongside them.”

The unifying power of sport

Sports make people as one, Pope Francis said, walking “united, feeling part of one single family and a family of nations,” even in the midst of conflict and violence.

As an example, he highlighted the successful and inspiring stories that came out of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Pope also pointed out the newspaper’s role in reporting on the victories and defeats of athletes as “a way of thinking and living sport as a hymn to life.”

Pope Francis’ message warned against intolerance, challenging everyone to use sports as a means of teaming up regardless of race, religion, or class.

In conclusion, he encouraged the newspaper to promote authenticity and acceptance and to “reject every logic of exclusion and violence.”