South Africa's Bishops Prepare to Host World Cup

"Sport requires patience, perseverance, respect ... all values which our societies, and particularly Africa, much need! All values that the Church does not cease to advocate: charity, dialogue with other religions and cultures, love of neighbor."

DURBAN, South Africa (Catholic Online) - As South Africa prepares to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup this summer, the Southern African Catholic Bishops´ Conference (SACBC) has a game plan of its own. The SACBC Office of Communications recently launched a web site titled "Church on the Ball" as a spiritual resource for all who will be following the World Cup, whether in person or from afar. In a welcome letter on the site´s home page, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier OFM, Archbishop of Durban, writes: "This is an opportunity to highlight the important role that sport plays in our African cultures. Sport requires patience, perseverance, respect ... all values which our societies, and particularly Africa, much need! All values that the Church does not cease to advocate: charity, dialogue with other religions and cultures, love of neighbor." The web site has many interesting features. It offers reflections by Pope Benedict XVI on the theology of sports, and soccer in particular. An essay titled "The Playground as Holy Ground" by Francois Dufour, a Salesian of Don Bosco, provides insights for youth ministers on the pastoral necessity of joining children in their play. Visitors to the site can download a 40-page prayer book that includes many traditional Catholic prayers, soccer-themed prayers, the order of Mass, an examination of conscience, and much more. Information on Catholic parishes near all the stadiums and Mass times are included on the site. There is information on the Clericus Cup, an annual soccer tournament held at the Vatican involving priests and seminarians, a World Cup prayer, and more. The site will soon feature a "virtual chapel," where visitors can light a virtual candle with the flag of their favorite team. It is a way of drawing fans into the life of the Church that welcomes them for the event. In addition to the attention on soccer, the site aims to raise awareness of the tragedy of human trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors. South Africa is internationally recognized as a center for human trafficking, and the SACBC is aware that criminal organizations are planning to send thousands of prostitutes, including minors, to the World Cup. There is a danger that trafficking of women and children in and out of South Africa will increase during the World Cup events. In a proactive response to that danger, the web site tells of the efforts of Talitha Kum, the International Network of Consecrated Life Against Trafficking in Persons. This organization, consisting of religious Sisters from 19 different congregations representing 11 countries from four continents, met in Johannesburg in February to plan a counter trafficking campaign for the World Cup. They have planned a worldwide prevention effort to reach potential victims and potential perpetrators in various countries through awareness raising in schools, parishes and youth groups, publicizing the South African National Helpline (0 800 555 999), radio broadcasts and newspaper articles, and addressing community leaders to enlist them in campaign activities. The site also includes a link to the Counter Trafficking in Persons Desk of SACBC. All of the efforts of SACBC to promote fellowship through sports and to protect everyone coming to South Africa for the World Cup can be summarized by these words of Cardinal Napier: "Remember that the only true victory is one that enshrines the dignity of the person!"
----- James Penrice is the author of eight books, a correspondent for Catholic Athletes for Christ and a contributing writer for Catholic Online.

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