The Holy See and Disability Sport: From Attention to Commitment

Abstract

Research overviews of and historiography on the attitude of the Catholic Church and theologians towards athletes with intellectual and physical disabilities assume that the Church and theologians have only very recently begun to interest themselves in this subject. Starting from John Paul II’s contribution to this field, and above all from his integral anthropological vision, this article assesses his position by comparing it with that of his two successors Benedict XVI and Francis. Especially the latter’s addresses and interviews and the official documents on sport issued by the Holy See during his pontificate are testimony to his special commitment to athletes with disabilities. The article also examines the history of the Holy See and studies its attention to athletes with a disability. The results of this inquiry are that papal interest in this field is not limited to, nor did it start with the pontificate of John Paul II. Instead, it dates from the very beginning of the modern phenomenon of sport, with Pope Pius X at the beginning of the 20th century, continued by Pius XII and John XXIII. The latter’s speech to the participants of the first Paralympic Games in 1960 is the strongest indication of a pre-John Paul II affirmation of disabled sport. This points to the importance of taking a more nuanced position in the current debate, although it is clear that Pope Francis must be considered the champion of the Holy See’s commitment to the inclusion of athletes with a disability.

1. Disability within John Paul II’s Integral Anthropological Vision

Research overviews of and historiography on the attitude of the Catholic Church and theologians towards athletes with intellectual and physical disabilities assume that the Church and theologians have only very recently begun to interest themselves in this subject. Thus, Nick J. Watson and Simon Kumar wrote:

Historically, a major reason for the lack of interest in this area is that the discipline of academic theology has been bound to what Stanley Hauerwas (2004) called a tyranny of normality that has been perpetuated by theologies based on the enlightenment principles of rationality, ableism, utilitarianism and perfectionism. In this world-view those with disabilities are often unconsciously excluded, marginalized and perceived as somehow inferior to the able-bodied, who are those in society deemed useful. Historically, the Catholic Church has been at the forefront of challenging this view, in particular through the pontificate of Pope John Paul II.

(Watson and Kumar 2017, p. 246)

I will not discuss the development of and need for a (Catholic) theology of disability sport here (Hauerwas 2004; Watson 2013; Watts 2014), and will instead concentrate on the history of the Holy See’s attitude toward athletes with a disability. I will begin by studying John Paul II’s contribution to this field to be able to assess his position by comparing it with that of his successors and predecessors. According to Watson and Kumar,

Pope John Paul II, who himself died in weakness as Parkinson’s disease ravaged his body, and who reflected deeply on the sanctity and dignity of the human body–person during his lifetime, brings us back to the foot of the cross when thinking about persons with physical or intellectual disabilities.

(Watson and Kumar 2017, p. 247)

It would be impossible in the scope of this contribution to discuss in detail the 120 addresses, homilies, and messages on sport and physical activity which Pope John Paul II delivered during his pontificate between 9 December 1978 and 4 January 2005 (Lixey et al. 2012; Mazza 2012; Rinaldi 1990, 2000, pp. 171–318; Vanysacker 2022, col. 1268–71). Instead, I will concentrate on the three addresses he gave on disability sport.

The first was delivered on 3 April 1981 to the participants of the second International Games for Disabled Persons in Rome (John Paul II 1981). According to the Pope, the games show clearly and effectively that persons with a disability can be, and are, fully integrated into social life and that they live a full life and share in its joys. He was glad to note that greater sensitivity was at the time being shown to the needs of people with a disability. He argued that what gives rise to this sensitivity and sustains it is greater awareness of the value and dignity of the human person, a dignity which does not depend on secondary qualities such as strength and physical appearance but on the fundamental fact that such people are persons, human beings. In his eyes, persons with a disability play an important part in creating a new civilization, the civilization of love, by removing social barriers and contributing new values, the values not of force but of humanity.

Four years later, on 14 September 1985, John Paul II addressed the participants in the European Blind Championship who visited him in Castel Gandolfo (John Paul II 1985). He stressed the fact that humankind has received many talents from God, and that the participants’ practice of sport in their particular situation shows not just a natural need for physical activity, nor merely the spontaneous instinct for friendly competition, but also their human abilities and the wealth of capacities that they have at their command. In this way, people who are blind tell the world that there are many goals that people can reach, also in their social activities.

On 15 May 2000, during the Jubilee Year, the Pope delivered an address to the Italian Silent Sports Federation, in view of the forthcoming Silent World Games, to be held in Rome in 2001 (John Paul II 2000a). According to John Paul II, “this event, which includes hearing-impaired athletes from 80 countries on the five continents, is undoubtedly a precious opportunity to be together, to know one another better and to give one another support” (John Paul II 2000a). By their courageous human and athletic daring, they show that even apparently insurmountable difficulties can be overcome. The Pope asked himself how we can fail to recognize that attention given to those in conditions of lesser physical or personal efficiency actually helps society itself to build more respectful relationships among all its members. He continued by stressing that this attitude leads to a style of human relationships which support mutual cooperation among different individuals and peoples. It also promotes a much-desired civilization of acceptance and love, the only one that can remove every humiliating form of exclusion from human society. He ended with these words:

We are observing the Jubilee Year, in which Christians feel particularly called by their faith to defend and promote respect for every person, whose face reflects the image of Christ. They understand even better that the attention shown to those with physical disabilities is inseparably linked to that witness of human salvation and redemption in which every disciple of Christ must feel involved.

(John Paul II 2000a)

It is important to reiterate that before he became Pope, Karol Wojtyla, as auxiliary bishop of Cracow, co-authored the text of ‘Gaudium et Spes’, the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world, and that he was influenced by the renewed image of the human being presented by existential phenomenology, which saw the human as a bodily incarnated subject and posited that corporeality partook of subjectivity. In this sense, the traditional dualistic doctrine of the Church was revised by Vatican II. In article 14 of the constitution ‘Gaudium et Spes’, the Church affirmed that the human being, made of body and soul, was one:

Though made of body and soul, man is one. Through his bodily composition he gathers to himself the elements of the material world; thus they reach their crown through him, and through him raise their voice in free praise of the Creator. For this reason man is not allowed to despise his bodily life, rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and honorable since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day. Nevertheless, wounded by sin, man experiences rebellious stirrings in his body. But the very dignity of man postulates that man glorify God in his body and forbid it to serve the evil inclinations of his heart.

(Gaudium et Spes 1965, art. 14)

As Pope, John Paul II often referred to this pastoral constitution, especially art. 24, Section 3, which says that human beings cannot know themselves fully except through voluntary self-giving and that the human’s common vocation has as its deepest basis the doctrine of the deification of humankind, created in God’s image:

Indeed, the Lord Jesus, when He prayed to the Father, “that all may be one… as we are one” (John 17:21–22) opened up vistas closed to human reason, for He implied a certain likeness between the union of the divine Persons, and the unity of God’s sons in truth and charity. This likeness reveals that man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself.

(Gaudium et Spes 1965, art. 24)

Shortly after his election as Pope, John Paul II gave a series of catecheses on the human body. His theology of the body reflected his integral anthropological vision, which assigned a greater importance to the body in the human condition than before, because it alone was able to make visible in this world the invisible, the spiritual, and the divine. Yet the human remained and was more than his or her body: he or she was an animated body in the image of God (John Paul II 2006; Barrajón 2012, pp. 56–60). It stood to reason therefore that this Pope would take an interest in physical action. For him, sport was one of the important elements of the human being. In his speeches on sport, it is striking that he did not propagate an elaborate doctrine of sport for all; it was an item that recurred at various times throughout his pontificate, especially in conversation with people from the world of sport itself. On thirty-five occasions, for instance, he addressed athletes, sports people themselves. It cannot be ignored either that the Pope himself was and remained a sportsman at heart. Unlike Pius XI and Pius XII, he continued to play sports (skiing, hiking, swimming, canoeing) even after his election to the papacy, as many photographs attest. What distinguished John Paul II from his predecessors is that he spoke clearly from his own experiences and spoke about sport with great joy from the heart. This gave his speeches and homilies an extra dimension and the power of persuasion, as his audiences of sportsmen and women felt they were listening to one of their own, to a sports supporter. For the Pope, sport as such was good and should be fun and entertaining in itself, while his predecessors spoke of sport as being a means to another end, to grow in virtues, as a support for human development more generally. This fresh perspective on sport was beautifully expressed during the Eucharist at the Jubilee Celebration of Athletes on 29 October 2000 at the Olympic Stadium in Rome (John Paul II 2000b). John Paul II was also an attentive reader of the signs of the times, and he warned against the excesses that a far-reaching and super-professionalized sports practice can give rise to conceal, for both the athletes themselves and the coaches and spectators. Even more so than his predecessors, he warned against a one-sided culture of the body that loses sight of the total person. This holistic approach was consistent with his theology of the body. In his homily, he made a decisive change to the way disability sport was valued. For the Pope:

disability is not only a need, but also and above all a stimulus and a plea. Of course, it is a request for help, but even before that it is a challenge to individual and collective selfishness; it is an invitation to ever new forms of brotherhood. By your situation you call into question those conceptions of life that are solely concerned with satisfaction, appearances, speed and efficiency.

(John Paul II 2000c)

John Paul II also underlined that the Church welcomed people with disabilities and wanted them to be recognized, respected, and integrated (John Paul II 2000c).

In addition, like his predecessors, he regarded sport as a factor that could promote fraternity and mutual understanding among players and athletes. This was particularly true of team sports and international sporting events where meeting and dialogue across all barriers could bring about and demonstrate strong unity among the human family. Thus, the promotion of human brotherhood and mutual understanding through sport could lead to peace building and a new society based on love. John Paul II also saw sport as a possible expression of praise of the Creator. The body could show openness to sacredness during sport, and the athlete could also bear witness to this, by becoming an athlete of Christ, who himself was the true Athlete. Nevertheless, as Carlo Mazza puts it:

This attention to the values of the corporeal dimension and the stress on its subsequent need for redemption does not hide the fact—on the contrary; it highlights it—that sport must play a dutiful role with regard to the fulfillment of the person.

(Mazza 2012, p. 137)

2. Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis: From a Rupture with John Paul II to a Champion of the Inclusion of Disability Sport

The next question I will address is what the successive Popes after John Paul II contributed to the vision and attitude of the Holy See towards disabled athletes.

When it comes to the attitude of Benedict XVI towards sport, scholars have discerned a contrast with John Paul II’s integral vision (Barrajón 2012, p. 60). Although he did not deliver many addresses to athletes, he sent a message to the archbishop of Vancouver on 30 December 2009 on the occasion of the upcoming 21st Winter Olympic Games and the 10th Paralympic Winter Games. Citing John Paul II, he underlined that this important event for both athletes and spectators allowed him to recall how sport “can make an effective contribution to peaceful understanding between peoples and to establishing the new civilization of love” (Benedict XVI 2009).

Following Benedict XVI’s resignation in February 2013, the Argentine Jesuit Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected his successor on 13 March of the same year. As archbishop of Buenes Aires, he was socio (active member) of the Argentine football club ‘San Lorenzo de Almagro’ whose foundation dates back to a Salesian priest, Lorenzo Bartolomé Martín Massa, in 1908, who allowed street children to play football in his oratory. Francis has retained his passion for sport throughout his pontificate. At the time of writing of this article, there have been some 45 papal speeches, letters, and video messages related to sport. What is striking is that, as a non-European, Pope Francis’s focus is much more global and he cites sport in a broader context. Thus, in addition to the traditional focus on Italian sports federations and associations, he has addressed major sporting events such as the World Cup, Olympiads, including Paralympics and Special Olympics, international sports federations, the Argentine national football team, an interfaith football match, the Olympic refugee team, the NFL Super Bowl and an NFL delegation, an interfaith meeting with youth at the Maxaquene stadium in Maputo, and a reception of NBA players on racism and social inequality (Vanysacker 2022, col. 1274–77).

However, I will now concentrate on his attention to disability sport. Francis has so far delivered four addresses on this topic.

The first was on 4 October 2014 to the Italian Paralympic Committee. The Pope insisted that the testimony of the athletes with a disability is a great sign of hope. According to him, it is proof of the fact that there is unimaginable potential in every person, which can be developed through trust and solidarity:

God the Father is the first to know this! God knows your hearts perfectly: he knows everything. He is the first to know it! He knows us better than anyone, and looks at us with confidence. He loves us as we are, and makes us grow according to what we can become. Thus, in your effort for sports without barriers, for a world without exclusion, you are not alone! God our Father is with you!

(Francis 2014)

On 19 June 2015, Francis received a delegation of athletes of the Special Olympics Team of Italy preparing for the World Games in Los Angeles (Francis 2015). The Pope said that the world of sport is usually regarded by the Church with trust and attention, because she knows that it is possible to work together to bring back to sport its true meaning: an educational, playful, recreational sense, as well as its cultural and social dignity. He was aware that the athletes knew this well, because they chose sport as an experience of development and growth amid a condition of frailty and limitation. He insisted that they:

never forget beauty: the beauty of life, the beauty of sport, that beauty which God has given us. Sport is a very suitable path for this discovery, to open ourselves, to go outside of our own walls and get in the game. This is how we learn to participate, to overcome, to struggle together. And all this helps us to become active members of society and also of the Church; and it helps society itself and the Church to overcome all forms of discrimination and exclusion.

(Francis 2015)

Two years later, on 16 February 2017, Francis addressed a similar message to a Delegation from the Special Olympics World Winter Games that were to take place in Styria, Austria (Francis 2017a). Later that year, on 13 October, the Pope was very pleased to receive the participants of the unified football tournament organized by the Special Olympics, in which athletes with and without intellectual challenges play together. For Francis, “they were the symbol of a sport which opens eyes and hearts to the value and dignity of individuals and people who would otherwise be objects of prejudice and exclusion” (Francis 2017b). The Pope was convinced that “this beautiful reality, which they bring forth with commitment and conviction, fuels the hope of a positive and fruitful future for sport, because it enables it to become a true occasion of inclusion and participation” (Francis 2017b). “In this sense”, the Pope continued, “sport is one of the universal languages that overcomes cultural, social, religious and physical differences, and that manages to unite people, making them participants in the same game and, together, protagonists of victory and defeat” (Francis 2017b). He affirmed that “the Church, for her part, does not fail to support and encourage those initiatives, linked to the world of sports, which favor the good of people and of communities” (Francis 2017b):

Indeed, sport always has great stories to tell about people who, thanks to it, have emerged from conditions of marginality and poverty, from injuries and misfortunes. These stories show us how the determination and character of a few can be a cause of inspiration and encouragement for so many people, in all aspects of their life.

(Francis 2017b)

In addition, the Pope continued to support the ‘Church and Sport’ Section, even after the transformation in August 2016 of the ‘Pontifical Council for Laity’ into the ‘Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life’. Finally, in 2018, the secretary of this Dicastery, together with an official and seven specialists, including from Asia, South America, and Europe, prepared the Holy See’s first ever comprehensive document on sport and body culture: Giving the best of yourself: a Document on the Christian perspective on sport and the human person (Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life 2018).

At a first glance, the document of 1 June 2018, gives little attention to intellectual and physical disabilities. Only in the fifth chapter—“The Church as a key protagonist” (Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life 2018, pp. 41–52)—is the role of the Church stressed in backing the world of sport in creating a culture of inclusion, especially for poor or displaced children, persons with physical or intellectual disabilities, the homeless and refugees, and in some parts of the world, girls and women, who are denied the right to participate in sport. Elite-level athletes, for example, are reminded, by watching athletes with disabilities play, what sport is really about: the joy of participation and competition with respect for one’s opponent and oneself. Such examples, according to the document, help to reorient everyone toward the humanizing potential of sport. Giving the best of yourself considers

the development of Paralympics and the Special Olympics to be a visible sign of how sport can be a great opportunity for inclusion, and is capable of giving meaning to life and being a sign of hope. So too the creation of the first Refugee Olympic Team in 2016 as well as the development of the Homeless World Cup are important ways the awareness of the common good that sport fosters is being extended so that persons who are displaced or experiencing the hardships associated with poverty also have the opportunity to participate.

(Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life 2018, p. 45)

On 2 January 2021, Italy’s largest sports newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, published an extensive interview with Pope Francis. It even provided subscribers with a beautifully illustrated magazine entitled Lo sport secondo Papa Francesco.

Sport according to Pope Francis gives a unique insight into the personal vision of a Pope, a sports fan at heart. Much more than a curiosity, this is a kind of synthesis of what the current Church leader sees in sports and how he conceives of its relationship to faith. This is not an academic theological discourse, but an interview in a language close to Pope Francis’s heart: that of the sports world itself. Francis builds his vision around seven keywords: loyalty, commitment, sacrifice, inclusion, group spirit, asceticism, and redemption.

Asked about the Paralympics, which are integrated within the Olympics, one of the forms of sport with the highest level of equality, dignity, and respect, the Pope answered that

when I see what some athletes are capable of, bearing imprinted in their physique some disability, I am amazed at the power of life. Of sports I like the idea of inclusion, those five circles who ring each other ending up overlapping: it is a splendid image of how the world could be. The Paralympic movement is invaluable: not only to include everyone, but also because it is an opportunity to recount and give right of citizenship in the media to stories of men and women who have made disability their weapon of redemption. When I see or read about some of their feats, I think that the limitation is not within them but only in the eyes of the beholder. These are stories that bring stories to life, when everyone thinks there is no story left to tell.

(Francis 2021, p. 22)

This idea of inclusion gave birth to a new initiative by the Holy See. During an International Summit organized in the Vatican by the ‘Dicastery for Culture and Education’ and the ‘Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life’ on 28 and 29 September 2022 the Holy See issued a Declaration on the role of sport in the world today (Sport for All 2022).

Sport for all: cohesive, accessible and tailored to each Person is a call for change, to promote mature social responsibility at every level and for everyone. It has been written in recognition of the tremendous power that sport exerts in the modern world and its potential as an important enabler of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations: no poverty; zero hunger; good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation, and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace, justice, and strong institutions; and partnerships for the goals (Sustainable Development Goals 2015). While the Holy See recognizes the potential for good that sport has in the world, it also acknowledges its failings and seeks to address both in this declaration. First of all, I will consider the origin and context of the declaration:

The declaration has been precipitated by the recent global pandemic. COVID-19 has dramatically affected every person on the globe: with sickness, death, mourning, spiritual reflection, psychological distress and financial hardship more visible than ever. For the first time in the modern era, world sport had also stopped. The absence of sporting activity and the pause in many of our daily activities has given time for deeper reflection, including theological reflection, on what it means to be human and what we desire our societies to be as we move into the future. It has also provided us with an opportunity for a deeper reflection on the human and social significance of sport. Because of the importance of the declaration we stick very near to the document itself.

(Sport for All 2022, p. 2)

The vision of the declaration stipulates in the first place that sport must display maturity and has to change or be changed: “It must play its part in a season of renewed responsibility (social, environmental and personal) instead of focusing only on its own interests (remaining closed in on itself)” (Sport for All 2022, pp. 2–3). Secondly, sport has the power to change human beings:

The internal goods of sport have to do with the enjoyment of meeting challenges, of going beyond where we were previously, of playing on a team. They are available to every person, regardless of age or skill level. Sport is not an absolute good, however. Its value depends on the context in which it is promoted and the purposes it pursues. If it is accessible and inclusive and remains anchored in sound educational processes, and fosters a commitment to the common good, sport can fully express its potential to improve people and the world. Human beings are always looking for what is beyond and above themselves and ordinary life, and sport can give voice to this deep desire for transcendence, beauty and happiness in a peaceful way, uniting people of every race, culture and religion. A strong dimension of sport as an expression of human transcendence emerges in its following aspects: in play which aims at the enjoyment of physical exercise and playing together without ulterior motives; in competition which leads one to give the best of oneself; in its pursuit of happiness which aspires to achieve goals leading to true fulfillment.

(Sport for All 2022, pp. 3–4)

The mission of the declaration is to “ensure that sport is part of what matters most, and contributes to a more inclusive society, in which every person is accepted and welcomed, regardless of ability or disability” (Sport for All 2022, p. 4).

The Holy See believes that a fully inclusive sport must be:

cohesive, by safeguarding the unity and solidarity of sport. Sport in the last century has spread globally, with a vast growth of fans and practitioners, becoming one of the characteristic phenomena of modernity. This rapid development has led sport, particularly elite sport, to suffer sometimes from an unrestrained orientation towards success and to be subjected to manipulation, distancing it from its own established values. There is a danger of a clear separation between the world of elite sport and sport for all, jeopardizing the unitary vision of sport. Instead, it is necessary for sport to recover its balance, in all its spheres and with equal dignity for everybody.

accessible, by guaranteeing that sport is made available to everyone. Sport should be ludic and is an example of a human universal. It can be associated with personal growth and help to foster the common good. Everyone should be able to enjoy the benefits of playing a sport by having the opportunity to access it, regardless of sex, abilities or disabilities, cultural, social, economic, ethnic status or religious affiliation. These benefits (including physical, psychological, sociological, economic benefits) should ultimately lead to the overall betterment of the person’s wellbeing. It is important that sport agencies and institutions engage in shared actions to overcome all the physical, psycho-social and economic barriers that impede access to sport for people who live in conditions of marginalization and/or exclusion. Furthermore, affirming that sport belongs to everyone also means that all institutions, no matter their main organizational mission, can use sport to promote psychological development and inclusion.

tailored, by offering a sporting practice tailored to each person’s needs. Everyone must be able to find sports practices suited to their potential, abilities and skills. The sports offered must be adaptable to the needs, limitations and potential of each person, allowing them to enjoy developing their talents in such a way that also fosters their health and well-being. Sports clubs must make a qualitative leap, learning to welcome among their athletes, people in vulnerable situations and people with disabilities, accompanying and guiding them in a sporting experience, as integrated as possible, adapted to their abilities and helping them to develop their talents.

(Sport for All 2022, pp. 4–5)

The commitment and action of the declaration is stressed. The Holy See proposes to the signatories to give their ongoing commitment to (1) avoiding a narrow commercial view of sport (“sometimes purely profit and performance driven, undermining its social and educational value” (Sport for All 2022, p. 5)); (2) promoting sport tailored to people living in vulnerable conditions; and (3) focusing on Social Integration through Sport, with special attention given to people living in marginalized contexts and those on the periphery (refugees and migrants, the socioeconomically disadvantaged, the elderly and youth, prisoners).

The commitment to promoting sport tailored to people living in vulnerable conditions touches on people in psychological distress, in some circumstances on women and girls, and on ideological bubbles by social media, but also on disability sports. The declaration underlines that having limits is a fundamental dimension of every person:

Sport motivates every person to give their best, to go beyond where they were before. This is never done alone but together in a community. When done in an inclusive, safe and healthy way, this is an enjoyable experience and brings about growth within each person, irrespective of the age or skill level of the player.

(Sport for All 2022, p. 6)

Therefore, the Holy See underlines that:

sport should increase its efforts to include people in different situations of vulnerability, such as people with disabilities: many institutions offer great examples of tailoring sport to give participants with physical and/or intellectual needs, a pathway to full inclusion in competitive sport and sport for all at community level.

(Sport for All 2022, p. 6)

…/…

Sport is called to be safe and fully inclusive in order to perform at its best. This declaration is not just a statement of principles, but a declar-action, an invitation to concrete actions. Sport is a very human endeavor; the intentionality, the will, the vision and values of persons who are engaged in it are of great significance for its future and the future of society. All those who recognize themselves in this declaration’s statements and want to freely subscribe to them, are called to commit themselves, in their own context and through their own means and capacities, to be vehicles for change for the improvement of our society through sport.

(Sport for All 2022, p. 9)

In his address to the participants of the Summit—including Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee; Tim Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics; and Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee—on 30 September 2022, Pope Francis stated that sport is an educational and social good and that it must remain so. For this reason, according to Francis, we have a responsibility to ensure that sports are accessible to all, by removing “those physical, social, cultural and economic barriers that prevent or hinder access to sports” (Francis 2022). The Pope stated that it is not enough for sports to be accessible. “Together with accessibility there must be acceptance” (Francis 2022). In this way, finding the right sport for each person becomes easier, and each person can develop their talents, starting from their own situation, including frailty or disability:

This is an adventure which you athletes know well, because none of you is a superman or a superwoman. You have your limitations and you try to give the best of yourselves. This adventure implies asceticism, the search for what perfects us and what makes us go farther. After all, at the root of this quest is the yearning for that beauty and fullness of life that God dreams of for each of his creatures. Before concluding, I encourage you to strive to make sport a home for everyone, something open and welcoming. In this home, never lose the family spirit, for in this way, we may find brothers, sisters and friends in the world of sport. I am close to you in this mission; the Church supports you in this educational and social commitment.

(Francis 2022)

3. A Perception Contradicted by Historical Research?

This overview of the attention of the Holy See and the Popes for disability sport seems to confirm the perception that this interest is only of recent date. It is indeed clear that Francis is the Pope who has given not only most attention, but also a great commitment to the inclusion of athletes with a disability, in four addresses and two declarations, and the pontificate of John Paul II must be considered as a turning point, given the latter’s integral anthropological vision. However, I will now address the history of John Paul’s predecessors to find more evidence of earlier interest on the part of the Holy See in the topic of athletes with disabilities. I will chronologically follow the traces of historical evidence as they can be found in contemporary sources such as papal addresses and reports in official journals.

3.1. An Inclusive Sports Competition in the Presence of Pius X within the Walls of the Vatican (1908)

The Holy See’s openness to modern sports and gymnastics during the pontificate of Pius X (1903/14) is well known (Stelitano et al. 2012; Vanysacker 2022, col. 1237–42). Besides other initiatives, an international gymnastics and sports competition was held in Rome from 23 to 27 September 1908, which seems to be one of the first experiments in competition for athletes with and without disabilities in the history of Italian sports (Stelitano et al. 2012, pp. 89–94; Teja 2011, p. 25). Two thousand gymnasts and athletes from Italy, Belgium, Ireland, Canada, Austria, and France showed their skills and abilities to Pius X in the Belvedere courtyard. The enthusiastic audience watched the Pope award honorary diplomas to the gymnastics association of Ghent, the national gymnastics association of Montreal, La Flèche of Bordeaux, and the Catholic Young Men’s Society of Dublin. Special moments were the performances (leaps, landings, Jaeger on bars) of deaf-mute gymnasts from the Mutus Loquens society of the Brothers of the Christian Schools’ Turin boarding school (Morandini 2010, p. 104) and of a team composed of blind gymnasts of the Saint Alessio Institute of Rome (Santalessio 2023), as well as the sprint competition of amputee athletes. A contemporary magazine L’Illustrazione Italiana described the atmosphere at Belvedere as follows:

The director of the Mutus Loquens guided his gymnasts with nods and conventional moves. The deaf-mutes performed splendid exercises. Like the crowd, the Pontiff applauded. Apparently, they all applauded more forcefully, as if to convey the homage to the good young men. But the young people did not hear.

(L’Illustrazione Italiana 1908, p. 572)

According to the official Vatican journal, L’Osservatore Romano, Pius X greeted all with the language of his heart. In his speech, the Pope once again emphasized the positive nature of sports practice by Catholic youth, but also warned that such pursuits should be done in moderation and always within limits. Young people should not forget study and work; and they must combine their sporting pastimes with religious duties, for without the latter, they would never fully control the body (L’Osservatore Romano 1908a, 1908b, 1908c).

3.2. Pius XII Urges Athletes to Bear One Another’s Burdens (1952)

On 8 November 1952, Pius XII addressed the participants of the Italian Scientific Congress on Sport and Physical Education. More than 800 listeners witnessed how the Pope articulated the goals of sport and physical education. In his speech, the Pope applied the general Catholic principles on the hierarchy between body and soul to the practice of sport and gymnastics. In gymnastics and sport, Pius XII said, the animated body was the instrument; and the soul was the artist, forming a natural unity with the body; the action was the practice of gymnastics and sport. He elaborated an argument that considered these three factors from a religious and moral standpoint and looked at the subsequent lessons that could be drawn from them for the body, the soul, and their activity in sport and gymnastics.

The soul was the main and dominant factor in human beings. Based on this principle, the religious and moral conscience made a number of demands. Firstly, when valuing sport and gymnastics, when judging sportsmen and women and admiring their achievements, this hierarchy of values had to be respected. Thus, the highest esteem did not accrue to the person who possesses the most powerful and supple muscles, but to the person who also demonstrates the necessary willpower to place and keep them under the rule of the mind. A second requirement forbade sacrificing the untouchable values of the soul to physical ones in case of conflict. Truth, honesty, love, justice and fairness, moral wholesomeness and natural shame, appropriate care for life and health, for family and profession, for good name and true honor were not to be subordinated to the practice of sport, nor to achieving victory or acquiring sporting fame. A third requirement concerned the degree of importance which is attached to sport in the whole of human activity. To elevate gymnastics, sports, and rhythmic exercises to the highest goal of life was really too little for the human being, whose real greatness lay in much higher aspirations, strivings, and gifts. It was therefore the duty of all sportsmen and women to observe this placing of sport in its proper place in order to guard themselves against the danger of neglecting higher obligations relating to their own dignity and to the respect due to God and to themselves.

Pius XII was also attentive especially to young people who, after two inhuman wars, had physical and psychological disabilities, and could no longer practice sport or gymnastics. Human dignity and performance of duty were not exclusively linked to a healthy body. He called for the sick and the healthy to bear each other’s burdens:

We do not wish to close this consideration without addressing a word to a particular category of people, whose numbers have all too much increased since the two immense wars that have ravaged the world; to those, that is, whom physical or mental deficiencies render incapable of gymnastics and sports, and who therefore often, especially the youngest, bitterly suffer. While we hope that the ancient adage “Mens sana, in corpore sano” will become more and more widely the fate of the present generation, it is the duty of all to dwell with special and pitying attention on those cases, where the earthly fate is different. However, human dignity, duty and its fulfillment are not linked to that saying. Numerous are the examples presented by everyday life, as well as those scattered throughout the course of history, which show that there is nothing to prevent an infirm or handicapped body from harboring a healthy, sometimes great, even brilliant and heroic soul. Every man, however sick, and therefore inept at any sport, is nevertheless a real man, executing, even in his physical defects, a particular and mysterious design of God. If he wholeheartedly embraces this painful mission, bearing the will of the Lord and carried by it, he will be able to tread more surely the path of life, for him traced on a stony path tangled with thorns, not the least of which is the forced renunciation of the joys of sport. It will be his particular title to nobility and magnanimity to let others enjoy their physical strength and limbs without envy, and indeed to take generously part in their joy, just as, on the other hand in fraternal and Christian reciprocation, healthy and sturdy persons must exercise and demonstrate to the sick person an intimate understanding and benevolent heart. The sick person “bears the burden” of others, and the others, who in most, if not all, cases have not only their healthy limbs but also—we do not doubt it—their cross, enjoy putting their energies at the service of their sick brother. “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus you will fulfill the law of Christ.” [Galatians 6:2], and “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” [1 Corinthians 12:26].

(Pius XII 1952)

In this address, it seems that the Pope did not immediately point at sport activities for disabled as such, but rather underlined how young people with a disability could participate without envy in the joy of the healthy athletes and how the latter could help the former. Nevertheless, Pius XII was very open to disabled sport, as we can deduce from a special medal dedicated to him by all the participants of the International Games for the Deaf (the precursor of the Deaflympics) organized in Milan from 25 to 30 August 1957 (Cusumano and Modesti 1989, n°265; Deaflympics 2023). Already in 1953, when the same Games were organized in Brussels, the Pope had sent his blessings and sympathy to the Belgian Royal Sport Federation of the Deaf-Mutes through the Belgian ambassador to the Holy See (Castaldo 2020, p. 1419).

3.3. Pope John XXIII and the First Paralympics (1960)

The year 1960 was entirely dominated by the Olympic Games which took place at Rome and Castel Gandolfo from 25 August to 11 September and the subsequent first-ever Paralympic Games from 18 to 25 September. Pius XII, who had been looking forward to the Games since the awarding of Rome in 1955, was succeeded after his death on 9 October 1958 by the 77-year-old cardinal Giuseppe Angelo Roncalli. Pope John XXIII, seen as a transitional pope, surprised the world at many levels.

On 25 September, the last day of the first-ever Paralympic Games, which took place at the Stadio Paolo Rosi all’Acqua Acetosa in Rome, John XXIII received and addressed the participants in Saint Peter’s Basilica. The Pope first referred to the recent Olympics and to the participants, all enthusiastic young people about to meet in virtuous and peaceful competition, which he had watched with profound joy. The first Paralympic Games were also very special for him. John XXIII looked with much greater emotion at their prowess. According to the Pope the limitation of their physical capabilities had not diminished their enthusiasm, and with “admirable élan” they had over the past few days participated in a number of games they would never have been thought capable of. John XXIII estimated that they set a great example, and he wished to emphasize this again, as many could learn lessons from it. The athletes with disabilities had shown what an energetic will can achieve despite seemingly insurmountable difficulties facing the body. I argue that this speech by John XXIII is the strongest proof of a pre-John Paul II affirmation of disabled sport. The fact that John XXIII received the athletes at their very first official Games already indicates the importance he and the Holy See attached to disability sport. Moreover, for the Pope, the performances and the energies of the athletes with disabilities were an example for the non-disabled athletes. The Pope continued to praise them:

You have not let the ordeal knock you down at all, but have overcome it. With noble optimism, you have taken part in all kinds of sports competitions seemingly only for physically healthy people. My children, you are a living demonstration of the wonders the energy of will can perform. Will power is a virtue that is indispensable for man in general and even more so for the Christian in particular. Christ himself teaches us this, “The kingdom of heaven breaks forth by force, and violent men seize it” (Matthew 11:12). As a reminder of our pleasant meeting today, we would like to give you a good wish as a motto: “In the spiritual battle for the conquest of the eternal throne, may you display the same bravery as you have displayed during these beautiful sporting competitions. May you be among those warriors who “spoil the kingdom of heaven” by endeavoring to subdue your body to the spirit and make your soul obedient to the promptings of grace.” My dear children, it seems like we have gathered here a concise overview of the many countries from where you come. You are most welcome and we are delighted to greet in your person all these countries. With heartfelt love we commend to God all the children from those countries, who are so sorely tried, but who are so brave and cheerful. No doubt the Father in heaven looks down on them all with special affection. May He bestow His grace also on all those who care for you so devotedly and those who made these Games possible.

(John XXIII 1960)

4. Conclusions

Research overviews of and historiography on the attitude of the Catholic Church and theologians towards athletes with intellectual and physical disabilities assume that this interest was of very recent date. Starting from John Paul II’s contribution to this field, and above all from his integral anthropological vision, I have assessed his position by comparing it with those of his successors Benedict XVI and Francis. Especially the latter’s addresses and interviews and the Holy See’s official documents on sport during his pontificate give good insight. I then examined the history of the Holy See and studied its attention to athletes with a disability. I conclude that the papal interest in this field is not limited to, nor did it start with the pontificate of John Paul II, but dates from the very beginning of the modern sports phenomenon. It started with Pope Pius X at the beginning of the 20th century, and was continued by Pius XII and John XXIII, each in their own way and framed in their own distinctive discourse. The latter’s speech to the participants of the first Paralympic Games in 1960 can be seen as the strongest indication of a pre-John Paul II affirmation of disabled sport. All this points to the importance of taking a more nuanced position in the current debate, although it is clear that Pope Francis is to be considered as the champion of the Holy See’s commitment to the inclusion of athletes with a disability.