Pope Leo XIV used the occasion of the Winter Olympics' opening in northern Italy on Friday to urge a halt to warfare and to caution governments against turning sports into a political tool. In a formal papal letter, he called for military conflicts to be suspended as they used to be during the Games, describing the event as "a symbol and promise of a reconciled world," the New York Times reports. Leo—who swims and plays tennis regularly—also extolled the positive values of sport and fair play, per the AP, while warning that the pursuit of profits and performance risk corrupting sports entirely.
Without naming any countries or leaders, the pope spoke against using sporting achievements to swell nationalistic pride. "When sport succumbs to the mentality of power, propaganda or national supremacy, its universal vocation is betrayed," he wrote. "Major sporting events are meant to be places of encounter and mutual admiration, not stages for the affirmation of political or ideological interests." Other risks come tied to money, doping, and emerging technologies, Leo wrote. He said commercial pressures can distort the benefits of competition and argued that "the dictatorship of performance" encourages performance-enhancing drugs and cheating.
Despite the cautions, per the Times, the pope stressed "the common good" that can come from sports and the personal satisfaction from individual competition and accomplishment. He cited an example from tennis, his sport of preference, saying an extended rally can be "one of the most enjoyable parts of a match." The satisfaction comes from both players pushing "the other to the limit of his or her skill level," Leo wrote.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
