Church officials kick off new season of Clericus Cup in Rome

Published: 2007-11-20

ROME (CNS) -- Vatican and other church officials kicked off the second season of the enormously popular Clericus Cup soccer series in which 16 teams of seminarians and priests studying in Rome vie for the championship title. Organizers said they hoped the series' example of ethical sportsmanship and fair play would help infect the wider world of sports, especially in Italy, where a police officer's fatal shooting of a soccer fan Nov. 11 sparked riots across the country. Bishop Josef Clemens, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, said the Gospels teach that "one must triumph over evil with good." He said the Clericus Cup was a perfect example of the kind of good that could help guide sport away from "a difficult period." The bishop and others spoke during a Nov. 20 press conference held at the Italian Olympic Committee headquarters in Rome a few hours before the whistle blew to start the series' first match between Mater Ecclesiae and Rome's major seminary.

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