Pope: Winning at all costs not the true spirit of Sports
Sept 27, 2012: Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday at his Castel Gandolfo summer residence
met the Representatives of the thirty-second World Congress of Sports Medicine who
for the first time in their history, are holding their biennial Congress in Rome.
Pope Benedict XVI in his meeting with them offered them a few thoughts on the care
of athletes and of participants in sports. The delegates led by Doctor Maurizio Casasco
are from one hundred and seventeen countries and five continents. The pope recognized
their diversity of being an important sign of the ubiquity of athletics across cultures,
regions and circumstances. “Just as sport is more than just competition, each sportsman
and woman is more than a mere competitor: they are possessed of a moral and spiritual
capacity which ought to be enriched and deepened by sports and sports medicine.” He
said. He however rued that sometimes, however, success, fame, medals and the pursuit
of money become the primary, or even sole, motive for those involved. It has even
happened from time to time that winning at all costs has replaced the true spirit
of sport and has led to the abuse and misuse of the means at the disposal of modern
medicine. Below, the entire text of the Pope’s message:
Dear Friends,
I
am pleased to welcome to Castel Gandolfo the representatives of the thirty-second
World Congress of Sports Medicine as, for the first time in your history, you hold
your biennial Congress in Rome. I would also like to thank Doctor Maurizio Casasco
for his kind words on your behalf. On this occasion, it seemed appropriate to
offer you a few thoughts on the care of athletes and of participants in sports. I
understand that you who have come for the Congress hail from one hundred and seventeen
countries and five continents, your diversity being an important sign of the ubiquity
of athletics across cultures, regions and circumstances. It is also a significant
indication of the capacity for sports and athletic endeavours to unite persons and
peoples in the common pursuit of peaceful competitive excellence. The recent Olympics
and Paralympics in London made this clear. The universal appeal and importance of
athletics and the field of sports medicine are also justly reflected in the theme
of your Congress this year, which speaks of the worldwide implications of your work,
and its potential to inspire many different people all around the globe. As Doctor
Casasco rightly pointed out in his speech, you as medical experts recognize that the
starting point of all your work is the individual athlete whom you serve. Just as
sport is more than just competition, each sportsman and woman is more than a mere
competitor: they are possessed of a moral and spiritual capacity which ought to be
enriched and deepened by sports and sports medicine. Sometimes, however, success,
fame, medals and the pursuit of money become the primary, or even sole, motive for
those involved. It has even happened from time to time that winning at all costs
has replaced the true spirit of sport and has led to the abuse and misuse of the means
at the disposal of modern medicine. You, as practitioners of sports medicine,
are aware of this temptation and I know that you are discussing this important question
during your Congress. This is surely because you too appreciate that those whom you
care for are unique and gifted individuals, regardless of athletic capabilities, and
that they are called to moral and spiritual perfection prior to the call to any physical
achievement. Indeed, Saint Paul notes in his first letter to the Corinthians, that
spiritual and athletic excellence are closely related, and he exhorts believers to
train themselves in the spiritual life. “Every athlete”, he says, “exercises self-control
in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable”
(9:25). This is why, dear friends, I urge you to continue to keep before you the
dignity of those whom you assist by your professional medical work. In this way,
you will be agents not only of physical healing and athletic excellence, but also
of moral, spiritual and cultural regeneration. As the Lord himself took human flesh
and became man, so each human person is called to reflect perfectly the image and
likeness of God. I therefore pray for you and for those whom your work benefits,
that your efforts will lead to an ever more profound appreciation of the beauty, the
mystery and the potential of each human person, athletic or otherwise, able-bodied
or physically challenged. May your professionalism, good counsel and friendship benefit
all those whom you are called to serve. With these thoughts, I invoke upon you and
those whom you serve God’s abundant blessings!