VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 109   
   DATE 12-06-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - POPE'S VIDEO MESSAGE FOR THE INAUGURATION OF THE WORLD CUP: "MAY IT BE A   
   CELEBRATION OF SOLIDARITY BETWEEN PEOPLES"   
   - NEW SAINTS ON 23 NOVEMBER   
      
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    POPE'S VIDEO MESSAGE FOR THE INAUGURATION OF THE WORLD CUP: "MAY IT BE A   
   CELEBRATION OF SOLIDARITY BETWEEN PEOPLES"   
    Vatican City, 12 June 2014 (VIS) - "A celebration of solidarity between   
   peoples" is what Pope Francis hopes of the FIFA World Cup 2014 which opens   
   today in Brazil. In a video message addressed to the organisers, players and   
   spectators and broadcast last night via a national network, the Holy Father   
   recalled that football tournaments are not only a game but also an opportunity   
   for dialogue, comprehension and mutual human enrichment".   
    "Sport is not only a form of entertainment, but also - and above all I would   
   say - a tool for communicating values that promote the good of the human   
   person and help to build a more peaceful and fraternal society", he affirmed.   
   "Let us think of loyalty, perseverance, friendship, sharing, solidarity. In   
   fact, there are many values and attitudes fostered by football that are not   
   only important on the field, but in all aspects of life, especially in   
   building peace. Sport is a school for peace - it teaches us how to build   
   peace".   
    In this sense, Francis goes on to highlight three lessons that can be drawn   
   from sports and which represent three essential attitudes for the cause of   
   peace: the need to train, "fair play", and honour among competitors. "Firstly,   
   sport teaches us that to win, you have to train", he observed. "We can see in   
   sport a metaphor for our lives. In life, you have to struggle, to 'train', to   
   strive to obtain important results. Sportsmanship thus becomes an image of the   
   sacrifices needed to promote the growth of those virtues that build character.   
   If, for a person to improve, it takes dedicated and continuous 'training', how   
   much effort needs to be invested to achieve encounter and peace between   
   individuals and peoples! It is necessary to train hard".   
    He continued, "Football can and should be a school for building a 'culture of   
   encounter'", making peace and harmony possible among people. And here a second   
   lesson from sport comes to our aid: the 'fair play' football can teach us. To   
   play as a team it is necessary to think first of the good of the group, not of   
   oneself. To win, one must overcome individualism, selfishness, all forms of   
   racism, intolerance and the exploitation of the human person. Being greedy,   
   hoarding everything for ourselves, is an obstacle to the successful outcome of   
   a team not only in football; when we are greedy in life, ignoring the people   
   around us, the whole of society is harmed".   
    The final lesson that sport can provide for peace is respect between   
   competitors. "The secret of victory on the field - but also in life - is   
   learning to respect not only my team-mates, but also my opponents. No one wins   
   alone, on the field or in life! No-one should feel isolated or excluded. And   
   be careful! No segregation, no racism! And if it is true that, at the end of   
   this World Cup, only one national team will lift the trophy as winners,   
   learning the lessons that sports teach us all to be victorious, strengthening   
   the bonds that unite us".   
    The Holy Father concluded by greeting the president of Brazil, Dilma   
   Rousseff, and promising to pray for all. "May this World Cup take place with   
   serenity and tranquillity, always with mutual respect, solidarity and   
   brotherhood among men and women who acknowledge each other as members of a   
   single family".   
      
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    NEW SAINTS ON 23 NOVEMBER   
    Vatican City, 12 June 2014 (VIS) - During this morning's ordinary public   
   consistory in the Vatican the Holy Father decreed that on 23 November 2014,   
   festivity of Christ King of the Universe, the following blesseds will be   
   inscribed in the book of saints:   
    - Blessed Giovanni Antonio Farina, bishop of Vicenza, Italy, and founder of   
   the Institute of the Sisters of Saint Dorothy, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts.   
    - Blessed Kuriakose Elias Chavara of the Holy Family, Indian priest and   
   founder of the Congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate.   
    - Blessed Ludovico de Casoria, Italian professed priest of the Order of   
   Friars Minor, founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Saint   
   Elizabeth ("Bigie").   
    - Blessed Nicola da Longobardi, Italian professed oblate of the Order of   
   Minims.   
    - Blessed Eufrasia Eluvathingal of the Sacred Heart, Indian professed   
   religious of the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel.   
    - Blessed Amato Ronconi, Italian layperson of the Third Order of St. Francis,   
   founder of the founder of the Hospital-Hospice for Poor Pilgrims of Saludecio,   
   now the Beato Amato Ronconi Nursing Home.   
      
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   For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:   
   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
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    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)