Young Karol Wojtyla in mountains |
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Pope Pius XI climbed the Matterhorn as a young man. Pius XII was a keen cyclist and one of the founders of the Tour de France. Pope John Paul II loved the outdoors and was a keen mountaineer. Overall - sports are good for your physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual well-being. That was the message at the official launch of the John Paul ll Foundation for Sport (JP2F4S) which took place at a reception at Archbishop's House in Westminster, last night.
The new Foundation is designed to promote sport to people of all ages and abilities as well as the attainment of ‘Peace through Sport’ – both personally and in local neighbourhoods. It aims to encourage youngsters to channel their aggression into competition rather than conflict and so reduce violent crime and bring peace and security to neighbourhoods.
First announced by Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to the UK in September 2010, JP2F4S will enable an ever increasing number of people – in particular the young initially – to achieve inner peace through sport guided by the principles identified by Pope John Paul II and set out in his declarations and writing.
Turning gangs into teams
The dream is to free up numerous sports facilities, particularly in evenings, weekend and school holidays, to enable young people to get off the streets to concentrate their energies and so turn ‘gangs into teams’.
Building on interest generated by next year’s Games, the new charity will co-ordinate existing sports facilities in Catholic schools, parishes and colleges and, where necessary, create new ones in the Catholic dioceses of Westminster, Southwark and Brentwood (the diocese incorporating the 2012 Olympic Park). Teachers, trainers, parents, parish priests and volunteers have been identified to provide leadership and organisation.
Once the work of the charity is established in these three London dioceses, the intention is to spread outwards as far as possible. This will include working with existing groups who are located outside these dioceses.
While Catholic in inspiration, the Foundation is open to all who wish to play sport for peace.
Building spiritual character
Chair of the Foundation’s Board, Professor Simon Lee, explained: “The inspiration behind the John Paul ll Foundation for Sport is Pope John Paul’s enthusiasm for sport as a means of building spiritual character through excellence in sporting skills.
“In his life and teachings, Pope John Paul II showed that every sport, at both the amateur and the competitive level, requires basic human qualities such as rigorous preparation, continual training, awareness of one’s personal limits, fair play, acceptance of rules, respect for one’s opponent and a sense of solidarity and unselfishness.
“We will be promoting sport as a catalyst and conduit to enable all people to embrace a greater vision of, and higher values for, themselves and those around them.”
One goal - to achieve peace
Monsignor Vladimir Felzmann, Chief Executive of John Paul II Foundation for Sport, said: “Our vision is to also bring all those organisations that are already doing incredible work in the UK, and internationally, together to share best practice, campaign on issues we have in common and support each other to achieve our goals. We all have one goal – to achieve peace.”
During the launch, Fr Vlad who is 74, and gave an impressive demonstration of 74 press-ups. "When I began I could only do a few but this shows what anyone can do with practice" he said.
A new website www.johnpaul2foundation4sport.org was unveiled at the launch event. The site contains the most up to date information about the new charity and enables anyone interested - whether a player, trainer or volunteer - to sign up.There will also be a new Facebook Page (Facebook.com/jp2f4s.
A major feature of the Foundation is the Sacred Truce. Following the tradition of the original Games, JP2F4S will work to encourage youngsters to exchange weapons for sport to reduce violent crime and bring peace and security to neighbourhoods throughout the 2012 Games and beyond.
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=19182 |
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