Pope Francis has praised the unifying power of sport in his Sunday Mass ahead of the Paris Olympics and repeated his call for a global Olympic truce during the event. He hopes warring countries will give the opportunity to respect the ancient Greek tradition and agree to a ceasefire during the Olympics.
‘Sport has a great social force, capable of peacefully uniting people of different cultures,’ the head of the Catholic Church told the faithful in St Peter’s Square after his weekly Angelus prayer and six days before the start of the Olympics next Friday.
‘I hope that this event will be a sign of the inclusive world we want to build and that the athletes will be messengers of peace and effective role models, especially for young people,’ said Pope Francis, who mentioned the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Myanmar and other countries, saying that “let us not forget that war is defeat”.
The pontiff has called on warring countries to consider an Olympic truce earlier this year, with leaders such as Macron and the G7 joining him.