Vatican City
AP
Pope Francis on Sunday voiced his hope that the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games will provide an opportunity for countries at war to respect an ancient Greek tradition and establish a truce for the duration of the Games.
“According to ancient tradition, may the Olympics be an opportunity to establish a truce in wars, demonstrating a sincere will for peace,” Francis said during his Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square.
Pope Francis delivers the Angelus noon prayer in St Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, on Sunday, 21st July, 2024. PICTURE: AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia.
The Pope stressed that sport also has “a great social power, capable of peacefully uniting people from different cultures.”
The opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games will be held in Paris on 26th July with the participation of 205 delegations of athletes, who will parade on more than 80 boats on the Seine.
“I hope that this event can be a sign of the inclusive world we want to build and that the athletes, with their sporting testimony, may be messengers of peace and valuable models for the young,” Francis added.
The Pope, as always, asked the faithful to pray for peace, recalling the ongoing conflicts around the world.
“Let us not forget the martyred Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar, and many other countries at war. Let us not forget, war is a defeat,” he concluded.
Meanwhile on Saturday the Pope accepted the resignation of a Colombian bishop who was mentioned in a book about members of Colombia’s clergy who have allegedly committed acts of sexual abuse.
The Vatican said in its daily news bulletin that the Pope approved the resignation of Bishop Óscar Augusto Múnera from the apostolic vicariate of Tierra Adentro in southwest Colombia. The Vatican’s brief statement didn’t explain why the bishop had resigned from his post.
Múnera was accused of abusing of a young man in a book published last year by investigative journalists Juan Pablo Barrientos and Miguel Estupiñán, which also includes a list of more than 500 members of Colombia’s Roman Catholic clergy who have allegedly committed acts of sexual abuse. However, Colombian authorities haven’t filed any charges against Múnera.
In an article published in May on the news site Religion Digital, Estupiñán says that Múnera abused a young man in 2005 when he was a priest in the municipality of Santa Rosa de Osos.
Múnera hasn’t commented on the accusations. Colombia’s Bishops Conference didn’t comment on the reasons for Múnera’s resignation.
– With MANUEL RUEDA in Bogota, Colombia.
