«Peace Games, the soul of the Olympics and Paralympics» is the title of the book, published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana, edited by Vincenzo Parrinello and promoted by Athletica Vaticana. In the preface Pope Francis relaunches the Olympic truce and sport as an antidote to war. The volume was presented yesterday at the Olympic stadium in Rome.
«Thinking back to the value of the Olympic truce, my hope is that sport can concretely build bridges, break down barriers, promote peaceful relations». A few words are enough for Pope Francis to find the effective and suitable inspiration for making competitive activity, at any level, an important driving force for looking, through sport, to a future of dialogue and peace. The Pontiff’s preface, a grand presentation of the contents of this book, traces the fundamental lines for understanding and giving the right meaning to the 85 stories of Olympic and Paralympic athletes contained in the pages of what could be a sort of guide, for better also understand the major sporting events that we have experienced in 2024 and that we will experience in the coming weeks. All disciplines offered spectacle and excellence, through the stories of winning or defeated athletes, it doesn’t matter, but full of humanity.
What more iconic place to present the volume than the Olympic stadium? It was remembered that the first Paralympics were held in this facility, created for the 1960 Rome Olympics. Sacrifice, loyalty, commitment, it was said in the various interventions moderated by Alessandro Gisotti, deputy editorial director of the Vatican Dicastery for communication, are the characteristics that make sporting activity something that is not an end in itself. Yes, victories, records, medals and cups are important, but it is even more important how sport manages to positively contaminate civil society with its values.
The curator himself Vincenzo Parrinello defined the essential characteristic of the work, presented yesterday: «This book, recalling the Olympic truce that was observed in the Ancient Greek Games, is aimed at everyone, to teach that sport is not victory at all costs, but a wealth of values that can contribute to helping the world find peace, a good that must be pursued in every human and social context.”
It is the great humanity that pervades real sport, which makes the competitive world, both that of amateurs and champions, something exciting and attractive, which has all it takes to be a master of life. In his speech, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for culture and education, recalled that commitment is needed alongside passion: «No one is born a champion, but they can become one through intense and constant training». Evangelical conclusion in the words of the cardinal, remembering, with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, those who practice competitive activity with dedication and sacrifice: “Blessed are those who play sports, for theirs too is the Kingdom of heaven”.
Why, as happens in sport, even in life outside of gyms, tracks and sports fields, does there not exist full inclusiveness, absence of discrimination, full dignity both for those who win and also for those who lose? This is the provocative question posed by Luca Pancalli, president of the Italian Paralympic Committee. His speech helped to delve deeper into an important topic together with those of Marco Mezzaroma, president of Sport and Health, and Silvia Salis, deputy vice-president of the Italian Olympic Committee. Then it was the turn of the touching testimonies of the athletes. Like Amelio Castro Grueso, Colombian, paralympic athlete, Afghan Maria Sharifi and others: their dramatic stories that the sport they practice has managed to transform into beautiful stories of inclusion. Greeting Sharifi, Gisotti remembered the women who suffer in Afghanistan due to the Taliban regime.
The presentation of «Peace Games» ended with a highly symbolic moment: the delivery of two witnesses, precisely those used in the team running relays, blessed by Pope Francis, to the athletes of Athletica Vaticana, the association that in the Holy See he supervises every competitive activity. They will be taken in a few days to Gibraltar, where the Small States of Europe Championships will take place next Saturday, and to London by the cricket team.
Of Giancarlo La Vella
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