Vatican City, Feb 4, 2022 / 13:19 pm
As the 2022 Winter Olympics opened in Beijing on Friday, a Vatican official who oversees sports matters has said the Olympic and Paralympic Games are close to Pope Francis’ heart.
In an interview with EWTN News, Msgr. Melchor Sanchez de Toca said sports are “an easy way to connect people” and pointed to the times they have even been an aid in diplomacy, such as the so-called “ping-pong diplomacy” of the early 1970s.
The under-secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture said people have to foster and maintain the bridges sports can build between people, while pointing out that even the diplomacy of sports can have a “dark side.”
“It’s not magic. It’s not ideal. [Like] every human reality it is twofold: It has a dark side and a bright side. We foster and like the bright side of sport,” Sanchez said.