At today’s General Audience
Let the children come to me…
During his weekly public audience on Wednesday, September 21, Pope Benedict XVI (bio – news) praised athletic competition, saying that sports can be "an educational instrument and a vehicle for important human and spiritual values."
Speaking to 26,000 pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, the Holy Father acknowledged the presence of young soccer players from 16 European countries, who were in Rome for a a charitable fundraising event organized by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum. The Pope said that such sporting events should encourage "mutual respect, loyalty, and solidarity among peoples and cultures."
The Pope’s catechetical address for the audience was on Psalm 131, describing the entry of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. King David, he recalled, had vowed that he would not entry his own palace until the Ark was properly located. That promise, Pope Benedict said, drew an answering promise of favor from God. This interchange, the Pope said, illustrates "the dialogue that unites divine liberty and human freedom."
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