God Meets Football in the Vatican

Faith and football are intrinsically linked. It’s been nearly 25 years since God played a helping hand in Argentina’s World Cup victory over England. And it was not too long ago that Kaka stripped off his kit to reveal a t-shirt that read, “I belong to Jesus.”  (He also apparently has “God is faithful” sewn onto his football boots.) Starting this weekend, God and goalposts will be united again under the fourth edition of the Catholic Church’s Clericus Cup in the Vatican City.

The international football tournament for priests and seminarians (trainee priests) is the brainchild of Pope Benedict’s right hand man, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, a lifelong Juventus supporter who also once called for a worldwide boycott of The Da Vinci Code.  Bertone’s intentions for the tournament go beyond a simple goodwill gesture. ”In the future,” he has said, “the Vatican could field a team that plays at the top level with Roma, Inter Milan, and Sampdoria.”

So how does this whole thing work?  Well, the Cup includes 16 teams from around the world with names like “Pontifical Gregorian,” an all-Brazilian side, and “Mater Ecclesiae,” a seminary team of Mexicans. They’ll play every weekend – except on Easter, of course – at the St Peter’s Oratory sporting complex, which has a beautiful view of St. Peter’s grand dome. Although matches last only one hour, the biggest deviation from the professional game is that referees have the option of brandishing a “blue card,” which banishes the guilty player to the sidelines for five minutes. And don’t doubt that it would ever be needed. Last year, these contests got so heated that referees handed out three red cards in a single weekend.  It begs the question, though: Who exactly has the authority to accuse an archbishop of diving? Is the Pope himself officiating?!

The touch of an angel