God is a Red Sox Fan

Ok, so it might be a stretch, but it is pretty funny.

From AOL Fan House:

A quick glance of the Yankees' schedule in April reveals a pretty strange stretch: they're on the road for almost three straight weeks from the 8th through the 28th, with a random two-game home stand jammed in the middle against the Red Sox on the 16th and 17th. That makes for an awful lot of traveling and some angry Yankees. But why is the schedule so funny?

Turns out Pope Benedict XVI is coming to Yankee Stadium to say a mass on April 20th, which required that weekend's series with the Orioles to be flipped from New York to Baltimore. Since schedules are apparently incredibly delicate things, MLB didn't flip any other series to accommodate the Yanks. The result is a schedule that requires them to be in Tampa on the 15th, New York in the 16th, and Baltimore on the 18th. That's a bad week.

So the Pope is messing with their schedule, the Red Sox have won two World Series in the past four years, and Hank Steinbrenner is in charge. There's only one conclusion to draw from this whole scenario, really. God hates the Yankees.

The World Series Champions

Yeah, this is a few days late, but I spent most of Monday in Boston and all of yesterday in school.

I had a great time hanging around outside Fenway park waiting for the Rex Sox to return. Gerald was there too, but I didn't see him. He got a much better spot than I did, so check out his blog for great pics.

The World Series banner wasn't up yet.

Ancona Soccer Team Meets Pope Benedict

From ANSA:

An Italian soccer club vaunting a Catholic identity and commitment to good works if it sins on the field on Wednesday met Pope Benedict XVI.

AC Ancona players spoke to the pope after Wednesday's regular general audience, handing him a team jersey with his name on it and a red ball.

Red has always been the colour of the third-division side, which has a fan base who make no secret of their leftist sympathies.

Team captain Giovanni Langella told reporters: "It was a great thrill, a special meeting. The thing that joins all of us is faith".

Asked if he was ready to do social work if he got a red card, Langella replied: "I'll do it even if I'm not red-carded. You should always help others".

The club has embraced an ethics code launched by a Catholic sports organisation, the Italian Sporting Centre (CSI), aimed at promoting fair play on the field and funding charitable works in Italy and abroad.

It has been dubbed "the Vatican team" by the world's media but both the club's management and the Holy See has denied such a link.

Ancona was in Serie A as recently as 2004 but was double-demoted to the fourth division after bankruptcy. It has rallied, however, and is currently topping the third division.

The club's new owners, the Schiavoni family, hooked up with the CSI in a bid to make a contribution on and off the field.

The agreement with the CSI, an organisation of lay Catholics, includes a commitment by both club and players to do good works "in remission of sins on the field".

The world's media got hold of the story and dubbed Ancona a "Vatican team" aiming to "get an edge from the Almighty".

Film crews from the BBC and two German TV stations were on hand to record Ancona's Sunday win that kept it co-leader of Serie C-1. They filed reports highlighting that Ancona - from the historically Communist Marche port of the same name - had committed no fouls during the match on its ongoing "mission from God" .

But on Monday the Vatican denied having anything to do with the Ancona-CSI deal - although it looked "benevolently" on such charity and anti-hooligan moves.

Club CEO Giampiero Schiavoni admitted the club had no hotline to the Vatican but, acting through the CSI, would fund social work in Italy and Africa.

Meanwhile Ancona's famously left-wing fans, who regularly wave Che Guevara banners and campaign against neo-Fascists, said they welcomed any "worthwhile social initiatives" but did not expect to be "muzzled" by the club's new Catholic turn.

Italian Bishops Did NOT Buy Soccer Team

Despite reports the Italian Bishop's Conference has not bought a soccer team.

From this morning's VIS:

In a declaration released yesterday afternoon, Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. denied recent reports that the Vatican or the Italian Episcopal Conference have bought the Italian football team Ancona, which plays in the third division.

Ancona football club and the "Centro Sportivo Italiano" have recently signed an agreement involving the application of an ethical code in the administration of the team, alongside a new model of economic management, the promotion of a sporting culture among the fans, and support for social initiatives in the Third World. For its part, the "Centro Sportivo Italiano" has undertaken to seek sponsors for the club.

"The Vatican and the Italian Episcopal Conference have nothing to do with this project," declared Fr. Lombardi. "There are initiatives which have positive and commendable aims and, if the declared intentions can be effectively achieved, this is certainly a good thing," he said adding, however, that this does not mean that this is an initiative of the Vatican or of the Italian Episcopal Conference.

The Holy See Press Office Director went on: "The Church must not be attributed with responsibilities she does not have, although she may view positively the commitment of lay Catholics in various fields, including that of sports."

Members of the Ancona football club will participate in tomorrow's general audience in St. Peter's Square but this, Fr. Lombardi made clear, does not mean "that the Pope has sponsored or taken responsibility for the working of the team."

Rooting for "The Episcopate"?

Ok, so that's not really their name, but it could be.
The Italian Catholic bishops have bought an 80% stake in a soccer team.
It seems Bertone's dream is coming true

Read more about it here and here.

Update: as of October 9th Fr. Lombardi announced that the story is not true. The details can be found here.

Soccer Star Supports Virginity

So Gisele thought she was making a great point... well, here is another opinion from a star who can make sense when he speaks.

From LifeSiteNews.com:

The Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen is receiving widespread media coverage after an outburst in which she criticized the Catholic Church for its teachings on premarital sex, abortion and contraceptives.

Bundchen’s remarks follow closely on the heel’s of Pope Benedict’s visit to the Catholic country, during which visit he repeatedly restated the Church’s teachings on social issues, exhorting Brazilians to live up to the ideals that their faith professes.
Bundchen, however, called the Church’s teachings “ridiculous” in an interview with a Brazilian newspaper. At one point she made the unsubstantiated claim that in the modern world no one ever waits until marriage before having sex, even apparently calling into question the possibility that a man or woman can remain chaste until marriage.

"Today no one is a virgin when they get married ... show me someone who's a virgin!" she said. She went on, criticizing the Catholic Church’s moral teachings saying, "How is it possible to not want people to use condoms and also not have abortions? It's impossible, I'm sorry." However, in an interview with the Italian edition of “Vanity Fair” that appeared just after the supermodel made her remarks, the Brazilian soccer superstar known as Kaka has said that both he and his wife, Caroline, were virgins when they got married. Kaka, one of Brazil’s most successful soccer players, has long been known for both his outspoken Christian faith and his remarkable good looks.

“The Bible teaches that true love waits until marriage," Kaka told “Vanity Fair”, saying about his marriage, “If our life today is so beautiful, I think it is because we waited."

The time prior to his and his wife’s marriage, during which they conducted a chaste relationships, says Kaka "was important, as it tested our love." The soccer star admitted that it was not easy to stay a virgin until his wedding night, and that even still there are difficulties in living faithfully, saying that “there are always temptations,” but also says that the sacrifices that he and his wife made for each other have been more than worth it.

Gisele Bundchen, who is one of the most popular supermodels in the world, not only called into question the possibility of living chastely and defended the use of contraceptives and abortion, but in a bizarre twist actually indicated that the use of condoms should be “compulsory.”

"It's ridiculous to ban contraceptives,” she said. “You only have to think of the diseases that are transmitted without them. I think it should be compulsory to use a contraceptive."

See the Vanity Fair article (in Italian) at:http://www.style.it/cont/people-show/news/0706/0500/kaka-e-i...

PNAC 3, Tiberino 1

Clericus Cup update:

Last Saturday, the Pontifical North American College soccer team defeated the Tiberino College 3-1. This is the 3rd win for the PNAC out of 4 games.

Go PNAC!

NAC loses to Croatia

I am sad to report that the Pontifical North American College has suffered its first loss in the Clericus Cup last Saturday. The NAC students lost 6-4 to the Croatian team.

The NAC will be playing Tiberino this saturday.

Go NAC!

NAC Wins Against Gallico

The Pontifical North American College played against the Pontifical Gallic Seminary today and the NAC beat the French team 4-0.

The NAC will play Croatia next Saturday.

For more information about the NAC team and to see pictures of the game visit the NAC team website.

For general information on the Clericus Cup, see the official Clericus Cup website.

GO NAC!

NAC vs. Urbanium

The students at the Pontifical North American College won their game last week against the Urbanuim. The score was 4-3.

When watching the video keep in mind their unofficial motto: "If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing"

Unfortunately, I couldn't spot anyone I know in the video. :-(

The Clericus Cup Begins Today

The first game, which will be held today, is between Pontifical International College Maria Mater Ecclesiae and Pontifical Gregorian University. Both seminaries are operated by religious orders. Mater Ecclesiae is operated by the Legionaries of Christ and the Gregorian is operated by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).

The Pontifical North American College will not play until March 3rd when they face the Pontifical Urbanian University.

The tournament will end in June with the championship game.

Read the Catholic News report here.
and the Catholic World News report here.

Polish Priests Win Gold in Soccer Championship

Not the Clericus Cup, but almost as good. Reuters is reporting that the third European Priests Football Championship was held in Sarajevo. 100 priests from 10 countries participated. The participating countries were: Austria, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.

A hundred Roman Catholic priests from all over Europe swapped their cassocks for football strips in Sarajevo this week to compete in an indoor football championship organised by the church.

The winners were: Gold - Poland, Silver - Croatia, Bronze - Bosnia.
"We are here because we love football," said Father Zarko Relota, captain of tournament favourites Croatia, which won both previous championships.

"We are absolutely going to win again," he said during his team's presentation at the opening ceremony.

As the games kicked off, the priests, proudly sporting national colours, showed off their tackling and dribbling skills in front of crowds of Catholic seminarians.

(...)

In Sarajevo's sports hall an action-packed game saw Croatia edge Portugal 11-10 on penalties while Bosnia went down to Poland 0-1 in front of cheering nuns.

"The motto of this championship is 'Meeting through Sport'," said Monsignor Ivo Tomasevic of Bosnia's Archbishopric, which is hosting the tournament.

Read the complete article here and see pictures here.

Then Again Maybe Not

The Vatican secretary of state was just kidding when he said the Holy See might one day have a football team to rival the top formations in Italy's powerful Serie A, a report has said

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone created a buzz on Sunday when he told reporters: "I do not preclude the possibility that the Vatican, in the future, could put together a football team of great value, that could play on the same level as Roma, Inter Milan and Sampdoria," all first division teams.
But on Monday Bertone, Pope Benedict XVI's righthand man, ate his words. "After a joke, ... everyone started hypothesizing about a great Vatican football team," I-media reported.

"I don't think it's possible, so let's stop fantasizing," he told the Vatican-watching news agency.
Italian media seized on the subject, contacting the head of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), William Gaillard, in Brussels.

"Why not?" he said. "We already have San Marino, Liechtenstein and Andorra."
The idea also got the backing of Portugal's Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, a self-described football fan who heads the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints which considers candidates for sainthood.

"It's a very interesting and fascinating possibility. Sports is a school of values. The Vatican is always open to cultivating human values -- including healthy rivalry, the culture of victory and defeat," he told daily Portuguese newspaper 24Horas.

Bertone backed away from his remarks when approached by reporters at a football game between the Vatican's Swiss Guards and a team made up of Vatican museum and publishing employees.

The Vatican does have a "state" team belonging to the New Federation Board of teams not recognized by FIFA. Its players wear a yellow jersey with white sleeves.

Source: Yahoo

Cheering for the Vatican Team?

I came across two interesting articles today.
The first is from the AP via Fox Sports:

The inaugural Clericus Cup will kick off in February 2007 with the Vatican one of 16 teams taking part.

The final will take place in the Italian capital at the end of June, organizers said Friday.

"The Clericus Cup (is) an occasion for all those enthusiasts, and some former players - who are in seminaries today, attending university, studying to be a priest - to put themselves back in the game, dribbling, making saves and headers," the Italian Sports Center (CSI), which is organizing the event, said in a statement on its Web site.
CSI is a Christian organization that promotes education through sport.
"The purpose is really to reinvigorate the tradition (of sport) inside the Christian community," CSI president Edio Costantini told Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday, crediting Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state and an ardent Juventus fan, with the idea.
"Sport is a magnificent tool for bringing the young together ... Aside from physical training, a soccer match can serve as a (means to) personal, social and spiritual growth," Costantini said.

Costantini hopes that many priests who have hung up their boots "to prioritize other aspects of the Christian mission" will start to play soccer again.

"A priest that can get together with kids to play soccer is the best advertisement for sporting culture inside the Church," Costantini added.

The teams are likely to be made up of trainee priests [seminarians], who are studying at the various pontifical universities in Rome. Games are limited to one hour - rather than the normal 90 minutes - which may tempt some of the older generation to play.

The coaching staff will also be exclusively clerical, Gazzetta reported. It did not say who the referees will be.

The first edition of the Clericus Cup will be limited to teams from Rome, but the format could be extended to other regions throughout Italy, according to Gazzetta.

The late Pope John Paul II was a keen sportsman and played soccer in his youth, mostly as a goalkeeper.

Here is the second article. From the Australian:

The Vatican may one day field a football team that could rival the top formations in Italy's powerful Serie A, the Holy See's Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said today.

"I do not preclude the possibility that the Vatican, in the future, could put together a football team of great value, that could play on the same level as Roma, Inter Milan and Sampdoria,'' all first division teams, the cardinal said, according to the Ansa agency.

Cardinal Bertone has never hidden his passion for football, and has commented on matches in the past when he was archbishop of Genoa. He has mentioned on several occasions the possibility of the Vatican fielding a team.