Principal
“Faith is like sport - we can only save ourselves as a team”
After a wonderful Saturday watching SPC boys engaged in sport, I was so impressed with the drive, enthusiasm and collaboration that they exhibited. It brought to mind reports about Pope Francis and the importance he puts on sport in his ministry.
When it comes to sports, Pope Francis might best be described as a streetball player and a loyal fan. He is the kid whose enthusiasm for play far exceeds his talent. In pick-up soccer games, his teammates often designated him as goalie because, in his own words, he was a "pata dura," literally a "hard leg," an Argentinian colloquialism whose closest equivalent is having "two left feet." Like any number of poor children to this day, Francis grew up playing with "pelotas de trapo," improvised soccer balls made of rags because leather balls were too expensive. Such a ball was all one needed to "perform miracles" in his neighbourhood plaza.
From 2013 through to the pandemic, Francis has well over 40 documented remarks on sport in audiences, letters and messages. He has released videos on the occasions of high-profile events like the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and Super Bowl in Houston in 2017.
He extended special greetings to athletes during general audiences in August 2016 before both the Olympics and the Paralympic Games. In November 2020, at his invitation, he met with officials and player representatives from the NBA Players Association. Their conversation focused on the role of sport as a messenger for the good in addressing social justice.
For almost eight years, Francis has produced what might be understood as a "canon within a canon" when it comes to sports and his ongoing development of a theology of encounter. What he reveals in his interview is how sports, at every level, can function as a praxis of encounter, in other words, the spaces, places and opportunities where belonging, inclusion and solidarity are literally "played" out.
Francis links sports to identity and memory as key in cultural formation. He claims his local sports club as a part of his cultural identity. Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro sponsored both soccer and basketball teams, the latter favoured by his father. On numerous occasions, Francis has shared fond memories of family time at the soccer stadium and regaled his NBA Players Association visitors with stories of watching the Harlem Globe Trotters in Buenos Aires in the 1950s.
Whether playing, cheering or remembering, for Francis, sports are about belonging. As part of the daily living of millions across the globe, "sport is the experience of the people and their passions, it marks personal and collective memory. Perhaps it is precisely these elements that allow us to speak of 'sporting faith.' " Sport is a vehicle that cultivates a "culture of encounter". We must overcome individualism, selfishness, all forms of racism, of intolerance and of the instrumentalization of the human person. It is not only in football that being fominha [a selfish player who keeps the ball and doesn't pass it, ball hog] is an obstacle to positive results for the team. Because, in life, when we are fominhas, ignoring those who surround us, the entire society is damaged.
In Pope Francis's message to FIFA World Cup 2014, he spoke about the language of sports and how it allows for dialogue across differences, across religions and with people of goodwill who may not be religiously inclined. For Francis, that makes sports a means, a resource and even a metaphor for social transformation. Such transformation is possible with solidarity. "Using a sports metaphor, we could say that we can only save ourselves as a team."
From the soccer pitch to the schoolyard to the stadium to the street, Francis never loses sight of the joy of play or of the wonder and celebration that athletic achievements can evoke. In a 2019 address to the Italian Soccer Federation and La Gazzetta dello Sport, he tells a story about an exchange between a journalist and a theologian. The journalist inquires how happiness could be explained to a child. The theologian replies: "I would not explain it, I would give them a ball to play. This is happiness."
In the course of a recent interview, Francis was asked if he might consider writing an encyclical on sports. His response leaves open an intriguing possibility: "Perhaps this conversation can be defined as the start of an encyclical on sport. Let's see what God will suggest for the rest of the pontificate!" Judging from the wealth of the material available, both in this interview and in the body of his teachings on sports, Francis has a deep bench he can draw on.
Maggie Dent Presents a Related Webinar: Communicating with Teenage Boys
Our school has a membership with Parenting Ideas. As part of this membership, you can attend the upcoming webinar ‘Communicating with Teenage Boys’ at no cost.
About
In this webinar, Maggie Dent shows how using compassionate, empowering communication with teenage boys can better guide them across the bridge to healthy manhood, to a place where they feel worthwhile and engaged in respectful relationships.
When
Wednesday 24 March 2021 8.00pm AEDT
To redeem
- Click this link: www.parentingideas.com.au/parent-resources/parent-webinars/webinar-communicating-with-teenage-boys
- Click ‘Add to cart’
- Click ‘View cart’
- Enter the voucher code COMMUNICATION and click ‘Apply Coupon’ Your discount of $39 will be applied. Thus, it will be of NO COST.
- Click ‘Proceed to checkout’
- Fill in your account details including our school’s name to verify your eligibility. These are the details you will use to login to your account and access your webinar and resources
- Click ‘Place Order’.
This offer is valid until Thursday 24 June 2021. If you’re unable to make the broadcast time, just register anyway and you will get access to the recording.
Maggie Dent
Commonly known as the ‘queen of common sense’, Maggie Dent has become one of Australia’s favourite parenting authors and educators, with a particular interest in the early years, adolescence and resilience. She has written seven major books including the bestselling Mothering Our Boys and her 2020 release, From Boys to Men. Maggie is host of the ABC podcast, Parental As Anything. She is the mother of four sons and a very grateful grandmother. For further details visit maggiedent.com
Condolences
Please keep in your prayers Jai De Lisser-Howarth (Year 11) and Kain De Lisser-Howarth (Year 9) on the loss of their grandfather Curis De Lisser who lived in England.
Dr Vittoria Lavorato
Principal
SPC boys can do anything! *
*except divide by zero