Athletes Call Interreligious Soccer Match a Beautiful Experience Echo Popes Call for Peace, Halt to Discrimination. Pope Francis, who was the impetus behind the soccer game, met the organizers before the match, in an audience on Monday. Muntari Ali Sulley is a Ghanaian midfielder for the Italian club Milan and for his own countrys national team. He is a Muslim who described Mondays events as a beautiful experience. Even if I am a Muslim, I have been able to come to the Vatican, which is the center of the Christian world, because we all adore one God, before whom we fall to our knees. Because of this, it is beautiful to be together to give a message of peace and because we believe in God. The Israeli goalkeeper Dudu Aouate praised the message of an interreligious game, because as we live in a time of much conflict, we have to show that it is necessary to first look at the person, to look him or her in the eyes, and not to look at if someone is white or black, Jewish, Christian or Muslim. The Argentine player Javier Zanetti spoke of his incredible happiness because of all that we have witnessed. We have been with the Pope, who has transmitted to us this sentiment and this desire to be able to bring peace to the world, especially in these times when war is happening. I hope this can be a beginning point. Iván Zamorano, from Chile, described it as extremely beautiful and special. As you arrive here, you already feel something special & to have the opportunity to be here with this family is a blessing. Eduardo Elsztain a businessman from Argentina: I think any event that is an initiative to bring peace, union among peoples, and has to do with the fight against poverty, is efficacious and very valuable. We support this initiative, and I think that coming here, making this trip, and having a personal interview with Pope Francis was very special. We got to know Pope Francis from the many encounters he had with the World Jewish Congress, when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, where he had many meetings. We arent just participating in this soccer match, but also we want to visit a friend. I believe that the Pope is behaving as a leader, he is someone who moves things, and this is a very valuable initiative. Thats why my wife and I came here. Elsztain: When theres something apparently negative, it has a hidden positive dimension. So, to refuse to suffer defeat means that, when one sees something that seems to not be positive, from that negativity, the positive must be extracted. I think the Pope has this strength. Adrián Pallarols, who designed the trophy for the Interreligious Match for Peace: We wanted to symbolize Pope Francis message, which is not just a call to a sports match. There are people here who have the capacity to start things & we want to create awareness that this is a call to peace. There are people suffering, families that are broken apart, bombs that kill people. This icon is not that of a sporting event but speaks of peace.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 20:56:22 +0000
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