Pope Leo XIV, an avid tennis player and sports fan, marked the start of the Winter Games on Friday by extolling the positive values of sport and fair play while warning that the pursuit of profits and performance risked corrupting sport entirely.
In a message entitled “Life in Abundance” issued on the same day as the Milan Cortina opening ceremony, Leo traced the history of Christian philosophers and popes who identified sports and physical activity as beneficial for both physical and spiritual development.
