This just in from the CBC:
Vatican to mix sports and religion
Last Updated Tue, 03 Aug 2004 15:44:33 EDT
VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II is setting up a Vatican sports department to move the Roman Catholic Church closer to a "nerve centre" of modern life, the Vatican announced Tuesday.
"The upcoming Olympics in Athens and the millions of persons around the world who will follow them are yet again a clear sign of how much sports are an important element in the life of our societies," the Vatican said.
The church hopes the new department is "one of the frontiers for new evangelization."
The 84-year-old pontiff, a skier and swimmer before his health faltered, wants to make the church felt in the world of sports, the Vatican said.
The new department will work to promote sports as a way to personal growth, peace and brotherhood. It will also promote Christian life among athletes.
The Vatican noted that there is an ugly side to sports, without going into details, but said it wants sports to be "a school of virtue and an instrument of peace among peoples. "
...a nerve centre indeed