Olympics opening ceremony reside updates as 2026 Winter Video games kick off in Milano Cortina

Pope Leo XIV, an avid sports activities fan, marked the beginning of the Winter Video games on Friday by extolling the constructive values of sport and truthful play whereas warning that the pursuit of income and efficiency risked corrupting sport completely.

In a message entitled “Life in Abundance,” Leo traced the historical past of Christian philosophers and popes who recognized sports activities and leisure actions as useful for each bodily and religious improvement.

He referred to as for sport to be accessible to each poor folks and ladies, particularly, and for followers to chorus from turning sport right into a fanatical faith. Athletes, too, he mentioned, should chorus from narcissism and changing into obsessive about their picture and success.

“The cult of picture and efficiency, amplified by media and digital platforms, dangers fragmenting the particular person, separating physique from thoughts and spirit,” he warned.

True sport, he mentioned, requires a “shared moral accord” between rivals, the place the principles of the sport are accepted and the integrity of the competition is revered.

“Accepting the bounds of 1’s physique, the bounds of time and fatigue, and respecting the established guidelines means recognizing that success comes from self-discipline, perseverance and loyalty,” he mentioned.

Leo, 70, religiously performs tennis and swims, and is a longtime fan of the Chicago White Sox.

The pontiff drew on his expertise as a tennis participant in his message, noting the cultural and religious advantages of the so-called “movement expertise,” of being challenged past one’s degree, that each followers and gamers alike can expertise in a chronic tennis rally.

“The explanation this is likely one of the most satisfying components of a match is that every participant pushes the opposite to the restrict of his or her talent degree,” Leo wrote. “The expertise is exhilarating, and the 2 gamers problem one another to enhance; that is as true for 2 ten-year-olds as it’s for 2 skilled champions.”

-CBS/AP