Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Honiara (Fides) - 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 at the end of April. In a festive spirit hundreds of school children paraded in the school teams into the sports ground to take part in races and competitions in various Olympic disciplines
Present for the Games Archbishop Adrian Smith of Honiara and Bishop Chris Cardone of Auki, as well as Salesian Fr Luciano Capelli rector of the Don Bosco Technical School.
The Bishops underlined the close connection between faith and sport. 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 “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, forgiveness.
Therefore, in agreement with the Salesian missionaries, the Church in Solomon Islands encouraged the promotion of sport, which shows itself to be a powerful means of meeting and education for thousands of young people.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 9/5/2005 righe 26 parole 263)
