Pope Francis has received dozens of soccer jerseys and game balls during his eight-year pontificate but he got a new football-themed toy on Wednesday: his very own foosball table. Read more
Posts Tagged ‘football’
Ta’u Pupu’a: from football player to opera singer with Dame Kiri’s help
Monday, August 6th, 2018
Ta’u Pupu’ moved from Tonga to the United States with his family when he was about eight years old, the youngest of nine siblings. As a young man, he was accepted into Weber State University in Utah on a full football scholarship. From there he was drafted to the Cleveland Browns. He later went on to Read more
Season’s over, so back to school for Liberato Cacace
Thursday, April 26th, 2018
Now that the A-League Phoenix season has come to an end, it is time for Liberato Cacace to go back to school. With the start of the new term next week, the year-13 pupil will be back at St Patrick’s College in Wellington. At the back end of the season, following a series of consistent performances for Read more
Archbishop of Lima says Peru will beat the All Whites
Monday, November 13th, 2017
The Archbishop of Lima, Juan Luis Cipriani, is backing Peru to beat the All Whites in their second contest in Lima on Wednesday. In his programme ‘Dialogue of Faith’, broadcast on a cable TV channel, Cipriani said he does not think much of the All Whites. “Honestly, the other team is bad, you have to Read more
Irish nun, policeman score internet hit with football contest video
Monday, June 12th, 2017An Irish nun and a policeman have emerged as unlikely sporting stars, after a video of the pair kicking a football in their respective uniforms went viral. The video shows a police officer identified as Garda O’Connell playing “keepy-uppy” with an unnamed nun from the Dominican order in the city of Limerick in southwest Ireland. Have Read more
Priest in gun for pointing musket at boy in football spat
Friday, October 9th, 2015A US priest has pleaded not guilty to charges that came after he pointed a functioning but unloaded musket at an 8-year-old boy. Fr Kevin Carter of New Jersey was charged with child endangerment and aggravated assault. Authorities said the September 13 incident was spurred by a football rivalry, but Fr Carter maintained that it Read more
Why is FIFA so corrupt?
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2015
Ibn Khaldun offered a cogent explanation of why corruption thrives within close-knit societies. To everyone’s great shock and surprise, a number of FIFA officials have been arrested on corruption charges at the behest of US law enforcement agencies. Whatever the outcome of these investigations, it is no secret that FIFA is beset by corruption, which Read more
Faith and life in Brazil
Tuesday, June 17th, 2014
It’s official: the deep Amazonas is more remote than Siberia. In all of the visits I have made to provinces of the Congregation of Jesus (CJ) all over the world, never have I been without a signal for my BlackBerry… until I visited one of our sisters living and working in a community along the Read more
World Cup and child abuse
Friday, June 6th, 2014
As Brazil counts down to the opening of the World Cup on June 12, churches in cities hosting the international soccer tournament are not content to sit on the sidelines and cheer. They’ve launched a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of the hundreds of vulnerable children at risk of sexual exploitation during the monthlong competition. Read more
World Cup injustice
Tuesday, April 1st, 2014
Where once an event like the Olympics or the World Cup may have been seen as a triumph of corporate and athletic enterprise, today’s world counts the cost of games much more carefully. Previous events have left countries with decaying venues and huge bills that take years to pay off. Local communities are increasingly unhappy Read more