Pope Francis sends a message to the World Cup

On Wednesday (23), Pope Francis made an appeal to host the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, so that it would be an occasion for meeting and concord between nations and promoting brotherhood and peace among peoples.

“I would like to send my greetings to the players, fans and spectators who follow the Qatar World Cup from different continents. I hope that this important event will be an occasion for encounter and fraternity between nations and to promote brotherhood and peace among peoples,” he said at the end of the general audience, which was held like every Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square .

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The choice of Qatar to host the World Cup has sparked strong criticism for its internal policies, which restrict individual freedoms, workers’ rights, and respect for minorities.

Various international NGOs, such as Amnesty International (AI) or Human Rights Watch (HRW), have decried the human rights situation in the Arab country, based on extensive investigations and numerous sources.

During his recent trip to Bahrain, the Argentine pope defended that the entire Persian Gulf region promotes “fair and better rights and conditions for workers, women and youth, ensuring respect and care for those who are most marginalized in society, such as those migrants and prisoners.”

The Pope recently received a group of about 200 soccer players, family members and friends. Among them was the Brazilian Ronaldinho Gaucho, who was in Rome to take part in the Peace Match at the Olympic Stadium, promoted by the Papal Foundation Scholas Ocurentes.

On this occasion, he thanked the footballers present with a gesture: “I thank all of you who come from different places, faraway places, to play a match: a game, yes, but a game for peace,” the Argentine celebrated.