By Dan Russo
Editorial
Pope Leo XIV asked Catholics June 2 to join him in praying “for the values of sports,” that all sports “may promote peace, fraternity and communion.” He released this request as part of his monthly “Pray with the Pope” video, which is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, an Apostleship of Prayer that started in 1844, according to the network.
In the video, the pope reflects on how the Lord teaches us “that in life, as in the game, no one is saved alone.” Pope Leo prays that sport “may always be a school of fraternity, not of empty rivalry, a space of encounter, not exclusion, a path of peace, not violence.”
The pope’s intention comes as the United States hosts the men’s FIFA World Cup (along with Canada and Mexico) for the first time since 1994. The tournament is being held from June 11-July 19.
One of the most interesting aspects of this year’s contest is that the Iran national team was able to play in Los Angeles June 15, tying New Zealand 2-2. The 31 players were allowed into the United States as a “good will gesture,” according to U.S. officials, just hours before the two countries reached a tentative peace agreement, which was set to be signed on June 19. At its worst, sports can become an idol that prompts people to commit bad actions such as “football hooligans” fighting before or during soccer games, riots after championships or frustrated fans throwing snowballs at Santa Claus. (Yes, this really happened at a Philadelphia Eagles game in 1968.)
At its best, sports can lead to new understanding and unity, like when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947, almost two decades before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally ended segregation in public places.
Let’s hope the healthy competition of sports and the camaraderie of athletes will help foster a new understanding between Iran and the United States, and other nations, which at one time or another have been at war.
As Father’s Day approaches, there’s one other benefit to sports that’s worth mentioning. In the United States, the epidemic of fatherlessness today has had such a negative impact on society that the federal government is funding a website called fatherhood.gov to promote “responsible fatherhood.” According to the U.S. Census Bureau, roughly 18.2 million children, about 1 in 4, grow up in homes without biological, step or adopted fathers in the home. Other children experience fathers who live with them, but are not executing this awesome responsibility well. Many influential people, including a former president, have recognized that this fatherhood deficit is hurting our nation deeply.
During a 2009 townhall meeting on Fatherhood, President Barrack Obama, who himself experienced an absent father, stated: “Now, I had a heroic mom and wonderful grandparents who helped raise me and my sister … But despite all their extraordinary love and attention, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t feel my father’s absence. That’s something that leaves a hole in a child’s heart that a government can’t fill.”
Uncles and other male family members can help fill this gap. There is also a very important role for spiritual fathers like priests and deacons to play. It’s sometimes hard for a child without a father or with a bad one to connect with the Christian understanding of God as a loving father.
Another key positive force that aids children lacking fathers has been and will continue to be sports and coaches. More than one successful athlete has talked about the amazing impact of a good coach. One poignant example comes to mind.
Ozzie Smith is a hall of fame baseball player whose father abandoned him and his siblings after his parents separated when he was a kid. He grew up poor in a home where his single mother worked hard to provide for the family. Baseball helped bring him stability and, later, fame and fortune. In 2012, Smith famously donated a bronze bust of his legendary former coach, Merl Eberly, to Municipal Stadium in Clarinda, Iowa, home of the Clarinda A’s collegiate summer baseball team. The famous short stop credited the coach with shaping his work ethic and laying the foundation for his professional baseball career. Smith played two formative summers for Eberly in 1975 and 1976, living with Eberly and his wife, Pat. Smith kept up the relationship with his former coach until Eberly died. From the time they met in a small town in Iowa until his final days, Eberly served as a foster father — reminiscent of St. Joseph — to one of the greatest baseball players of all time. As June continues to speed by like a 100 mph fast ball, let us pray with the pope for sports, for peace and for all fathers and father figures.
Dan Russo, editor
