A new Vatican document cautions against the dangers of highly competitive children’s sports, political and economic pressures on athletes to win “at all costs” and the unsportsman like or violent behaviour of fans.
The document on sports also calls on every group or institution sponsoring sports programs to have expert-guided child protection policies in place and it urged bishops, parishes and lay Catholics to be proactive in helping “humanize” sports.
The 52-page document high-lighted the church’s positive view of the important values inherent to sport and blew the whistle on the growing threats in the sports world, including corruption, over-commercialization, manipulation and abuse.
The document — meant for all Catholics and “people of good-will” — also was an invitation to the church to offer itself as a valuable resource, partner and leader in safeguarding the dignity of the human person and all of creation.
In fact, it made specific reference to the need to protect the environment when it comes to hosting sporting events… ensuring “that they are treated in a morally appropriate way and not as mere objects.”
