“We will do everything we can to accompany the German team well from afar,” said the sports pastor of the German Bishops’ Conference, Elisabeth Keilmann.
For example, daily morning impulses, online church services, conversation offers and a travel blessing are planned. “We pastors give us a lot of time to listen and offer opportunities for trusting conversations,” explained Keilmann.
“It’s important to me to be there for people to encourage, to comfort and to share joy.” Meeting the sports chaplains often stimulates curiosity and more in-depth questions.
Send a signal with the games
Despite the criticism of China as the venue, an attempt should be made to send a signal with the games: “The inventor of the modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin, associated these competitions with the idea that they should contribute to international understanding and promote tolerance among nations “Keilmann told the Catholic News Agency (KNA).
“To this day, the idea of fairness and global peace is an important aspect,” says the pastor. These values are not only important in sport, but for society as a whole.
According to the Bishops’ Conference, Olympic pastoral care has existed in Germany for 50 years.
The German Olympic team has been accompanied by an ecumenical pastoral team at the summer and winter games for more than 40 years. A Catholic and a Protestant priest offer the athletes, coaches and supervisors the opportunity to talk and attend church services. At the Paralympic Games, too, the two major churches provide a pastoral team to support athletes with disabilities. At the Universiades, the world sports games of the students, pastors usually also travel with them.
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