It would be wonderful to live in a world at peace – even if only for 90 minutes (plus stoppage time).
The idea of a pause for peace during the World Cup Final comes from Msgr. Melchor Sanchez de Toca y Alamed, undersecretary at the Pontifical Council for Culture and head of the section for culture and sport.
Given the universal participation in soccer/futbol, it seems reasonable to me that for a brief time Sunday afternoon folks everywhere could stop killing, maiming, raping and persecuting each other. Just put down and guns, knives and clubs and watch Germany and Argentina kick the ball around.
This is the first time a World Cup will be played between nations that each produced a living Pope. I can imagine the two Pontiffs getting together in the Vatican man cave and watching the match over beer (German) and empanadas (Argentine). In reality, I expect they will be distracted by prayer and the pursuit of holiness.
I’ll be pulling for Germany. That’s partly because my family heritage is primarily German. But I also have some friends from Brazil, and after their team fell a bit short in the last match I don’t think they need the further pain of Argentina winning the World Cup in Brazil.
Of course, there is this player named Messi, who plays for Argentina. And he does seem to deserve a little recognition. How about he scores three goals, but Germany wins 4-3?
