Hockey at the Service of Humanity
St. John Paul II pictured with a hockey stick
Pope Francis commended the world of hockey. A press conference was held on September 6, 2017 at the Rockefellar Center in New York, during which several Canadian and American hockey associations formally adopted the Declaration of Principles, which was created at the First Global Conference on "Sport on the Service of Humanity" in the Vatican in 2016. Here is the message:
"His Holiness Pope Francis was pleased to learn that an international group of hockey organisations have chosen formally to adopt the "Declaration of Principles" that emerged from last year's Global Conference on Sport at the Service of Humanity. His Holiness trusts that this significant gesture will inspire greater appreciation of the pivotal role played by sports and sportsmanship in training future generations to pursue personal excellence and to promote the spiritual values of teamwork, solidarity and mutual respect so necessary for the building of a more just and fraternal world." Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State