Football fever.The Vatican could put together a soccer team on par with professional European teams, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, SDB, STL, JCD (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as Cardinal Secretary of State and Camerlengo, having previously served as Archbishop of Genoa from 2002 to 2006. , the Vatican secretary of state, boasted last winter, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Catholic News Service. For now, however, soccer-loving seminarians are competing against each other in the Clericus Cup The Clericus Cup is an international football tournament including Catholic priests and seminarians, held at Vatican City.There are 16 teams made up of the various catholic colleges and church congregations in Vatican city. , which concludes this June. The amateur tournament features 16 teams with 311 seminarians from 50 different countries. "You are playing in view of St. Peter's St. Peter's or similar terms may mean: Places
cu·po·la n. A cup-shaped or domelike structure. cupola cupula. , so behave well," Cardinal Pio Laghi said at the official kickoff, the Associated Press reported. Bertone proposed the tournament to show soccer's positive values amidst the game-fixing scandals and fan violence of professional soccer in Italy. "Wherever the church lacks a presence ... that environment becomes impoverished" of values and ethics, said Father Claudio Paganini, pastoral advisor to the Italian Sports Center, which put on the event. Recalling a time when village priests would gather kids for games, he also said that seminarians don't realize that sports can be a valuable tool for evangelizing youth. "As priests we have to return to being among the people." On the Web For more Catholic Tastes, check out our blog at uscatholic.org. |
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