Solomon Islands: Bishops outline link between faith and sport

Sport is a valuable means of educating young people to values and can also be a carrier of the Christian message - the Catholic Bishops of Solomon Island said at the School Games 2005 organised by the Don Bosco Technical School in Honiara. Hundreds of school children paraded in the school teams into the sports ground to take part in races and competitions in various Olympic disciplines. Archbishop Adrian Smith of Honiara, Bishop Chris Cardone of Auki, and Salesian Fr Luciano Capelli rector of the Don Bosco Technical School were among the spectators. The Bishops underlined the close connection between faith and sport. Bishop Smith said: "Sport leads those who practice it to strive to improve all the time and so too every believing person can aspire to higher charisma, naturally with the right companions and the right means. A point of union for faith and sport is 'corporeity' - a value which calls for the integral development of the person, called to be 'a temple of spiritual worship of God'. Other points of contact - the Bishops said - are constant training, fatigue, sharing, trust in companions, discipline, team spirit, patience and forgiveness. Source: Fides