UPDATE – Soccer game for peace!

I am being kept in the loop about the Soccer Game for Peace that Pope Francis called for.  This should take care of the whole war and terrorism problem.

I am told that the stadium is half empty.

“But Father! But Father!”, some of you are howling, “You are such a pessimist!  It’s half full!”

Fine, it’s half full.

Now they are singing John Lennon’s Imagine”, you know, the song about a world without any religion.  Sweet.  I suspect Pope Francis didn’t choose that song.

“Imagine there’s no heaven…

… no religion too…

and the world will live as one.”

Apparently the Pope has donated yet another Peace Tree to be planted for the event!   I wonder if the Peace Tree in the Vatican Gardens when the Imam prayed for defeat of infidels (read: us) is worried about competition for the Nobel Prize.

UPDATE: The Peace Tree has been planted!  Ministers of religion (which is apparently preventing peace, according to the John Lennon song they just sang) did the honors.  None of them were women.  One of the rainbow flags is in the background.

UPDATE: It sounds like there are lots of rainbow flags waving around…. hmmmm.

UPDATE: Diego Maradona is playing.

UPDATE: There’s a hashtag!  #P4Peace (The first P is for “Partita”, Italian for match)

UPDATE: No women are playing in the game, either.

UPDATE: I found a live stream.  A little fuzzy.  Yes, Maradona is playing.

UPDATE: Gooooooooo…. yawn….oooool!

UPDATE: Gooooooooo…. yawn….oooool!

UPDATE: He made the sign of the Cross when coming off the field.

UPDATE: Kevin Costner does Italian canned salmon commercials.  Who knew?

UPDATE:  Liturgical music now.

UPDATE: Lots of homosexualist pacifism flags.

UPDATE: Gooooooooo…. yawn….oooool!

UPDATE: Gooooooooo…. yawn….oooool!

UPDATE: Gooooooooo…. yawn….oooool!

UPDATE: Gooooooooo…. yawn….oooool!

UPDATE: Gooooooooo…. yawn….oooool!

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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54 Comments

  1. Bosco says:

    Football for peace? Why not? Clearly the ‘Hand of God’ himself approves of this event for peace, after all he is playing…sort of…wheezing and shuffling along the pitch.

  2. Bosco says:

    By the way, Arsenal’s Gianluigi Buffon will be participating. I imagine there will be not shortage of Buffon supporters there as well.

  3. Cantor says:

    UPDATE: No women are playing in the game, either.

    Few women play on men’s teams!

  4. benedetta says:

    You don’t think playing soccer will be enough Fr.? I suppose you are right. Perhaps there is some charitable fundraising here at least to go towards victims of war, genocide and atrocities against Christians in such preponderance as Pope Francis has pointed out in our times?

  5. Long-Skirts says:

    but just IMAGINE…

    Imagine no Tradition
    It’s easy if you try
    No filled-up Seminaries
    Just modernist blue sky

    Imagine all the people
    No True Mass Priests could say – ay – ay – ay – ay

    You might say I’m a dreamer
    But I’m not the only one
    Today’s hierarchy
    Hoped the Church would be undone

    Imagine never Lefebvre
    It’s easy if you try
    Just a service by the people
    With a little help from our friends we’d get by

    Imagine all the people
    No Mass with Priest to say – ay -ay -ay – ay

    You might say I’m a dreamer
    Twas Lefebvre who squashed our fun
    But I hope that you will join us
    In Soccer without the Son!

  6. My first reaction is that today is September 1, not April 1. My second reaction is that man is wonderfully adept at cranking out painless non-solutions to problems that will require serious pain, difficult decisions, personal sacrifice, and hard work to resolve properly.

  7. benedetta says:

    I actually was thinking that this would establish peace, on the earth, for all times. And then I read this post and thought, “Never mind…”

  8. benedetta says:

    Bracing myself for all the excellent proposed alternatives to effectuate peace which I’m sure will be coming forthwith…Proving once again that some people can judge certain people some of the time…

  9. ChrisRawlings says:

    To be fair, the rainbow flag, often with the Italian “pace” over it, is also the Peace Flag. I suspect it is that, and not the other rainbow flag, that is being flown at the match.

  10. acardnal says:

    Maybe Cat Stevens will sing “Peace Train” at half time . . . even though he is a convert to Islam who was on the No Fly watch list for a time and prohibited from entering the USA.

  11. benedetta says:

    No women you say? Oooo. I predict a full page editorial blasting Pope Francis by the Schismatic Tattler in the a.m.! What a meanie…

  12. Imrahil says:

    But Father… but Father…

    the rainbow flag of the “pace” movement (whatever its merits and demerits) has nothing to do with homosexuals other than the latter also using the rainbow. Which after all is a beautiful element of weather not without religious significance, as Scripture teaches. Abusus non tollit usum.

  13. Thomas S says:

    I remembering hearing that the rainbow flag had a different connotation in Europe, pro-diversity as opposed to pro-homosexuality. Am I misinformed about that?

  14. Imrahil says:

    Well, “pro-diversity” is just propaganda meaning “pro-homosexuality”, in these senses intended, isn’t it?

    But no, the rainbow flag has indeed nothing to do with homosexuals, it is merely the “peace flag”, originating apparently in 1960s Italian pacifism (and anti-nuclear-weapons and anti-NATO movement and the like), and gained much popularity in the most recent Iraq war. There may be reasons not to like that leaning, either, but it’s just a quite different flag.

  15. No More Tambourines says:

    But soccer CAN lead to world peace. If everyone watches soccer they will be so bored they will fall asleep. And when everyone is sleeping who can fight?

  16. Imrahil says:

    Dear No More Tambourines,

    that does not seem the opinion of anything but a tiny minority of the male population of anything but some very few countries.

  17. Brooklyn says:

    Thomas S, you are absolutely right about the meaning of the rainbow flag in Europe. From Wikipedia:

    “The use of rainbow flags as a sign of diversity, inclusiveness, hope and yearning has a long history. This choice of the rainbow, in the form of a flag for convenience, harkens back to the rainbow as a symbol of biblical promise. According to the Bible, God first created the rainbow as a sign to Noah that there would never again be a world-wide flood.[1][2] The reformer Thomas Müntzer (1489–1525) connected socially revolutionary claims with his preaching of the gospel. He is often portrayed with a rainbow flag in his hand. The Thomas Müntzer statue in the German town of Stolberg also shows him holding a rainbow flag in his hand.

    In the German Peasants’ War of the 16th century, the rainbow flag together with the peasants’ boot (“Bundschuh”) was used as the sign of a new era, of hope and of social change.”

    Maybe we [We?!?] need to trust a little more in what Pope Francis is actually saying [What is he “actually” saying?] instead of just belittling [belittling?!?] everything [everything?!?] he does and says. [A little sloppy, no?]

  18. TNCath says:

    I suppose Pope Francis had no idea that any of this would take this. Lord, have mercy.

  19. donato2 says:

    “Imagine” is a good song, if you tweek the lyrics a bit:

    Imagine no contraception
    I wonder if you can
    No need for pills or condoms
    And no abortion too

  20. donato2 says:

    correction on the last line (that was from the wrong rhyme scheme):

    Imagine no contraception
    I wonder if you can
    No need for pills or condoms
    A complete abortion ban

  21. robtbrown says:

    I am a Beatles fan from way back. They first appeared my junior year of high school. The next year I saw them in concert in Kansas City.

    The preliminaries having been addressed, I can say that when I hear John Lennon’s “Imagine”, it’s all I can do to keep from throwing up. It’s not only the words, but also the cloying melody that makes corn syrup seem like Castor oil

  22. acardnal says:

    Brooklyn, Thomas S.: pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze! The rainbow flag in Europe – and internationally – is associated with sodomites. Plenty of photographic evidence out there.

    HERE

    HERE

    HERE

  23. benedetta says:

    Fr. Z: I propose…Hockey…for peace!

  24. david andrew says:

    I’m raising polecats for peace.

  25. robtbrown says:

    How about a UFC tournament for peace? Or Demolition Derby? Or the Peace 500 in Talladega?

  26. Imrahil says:

    Dear acardnal,

    yes. It is. The rainbow flag certainly is used by the homosexual movement. But that’s another story. They say the colors are slightly differently arranged, and more importantly they have no “pace” inscription.

    Something like the flag of Germany and the flag of Miranda, Venezuela. Looks similar. Is different.

    The comparison suffers from a limp, as the two groups “pro-homosexuals” and “pacifists” happen to have large intersections… but still it’s two different things.

  27. robtbrown says:

    Brooklyn says,

    Maybe we need to trust a little more in what Pope Francis is actually saying instead of just belittling everything he does and says.

    Except for the ambiguities, I am fine with what Francis has said. I’m just a little tired of political gestures.

    Meanwhile, I still wait for reform of the liturgy and priestly formation.

  28. “It sounds like there are lots of rainbow flags waving around”

    . . . soccer seems to do that. I’ve seen it in most Professional USA soccer club games.

    You won’t find that in a hockey or rugby game . . . yet, although hollywood and the media are sure trying

  29. OrthodoxChick says:

    I don’t get it. Is this real, or more irony? If it’s real and it’s primarily for fundraising, then fine. But you aren’t trying to tell me that anyone actually thinks a soccer game will really lead to world peace, do they? Unless you’re European or South American, who cares about soccer? And Europe and South America aren’t at war so….

  30. Suburbanbanshee says:

    It’s probably important to know that a couple of real shooting wars between South American countries started at “lively” soccer games, and that both soccer players and fans have been shot, beaten up, etc. by “lively” fans.

    So yeah, it sounds weird, but there is a lot of logic.

    La Guerra de Futbol, aka the Hundred Hours War, between El Salvador and Honduras, 1969.

    Ceasefire Massacre, Northern Ireland, 1994.

    Soccer game massacre, Haiti, 2005.

    Port Said soccer riot massacre, Egypt, 2012.

  31. Vecchio di Londra says:

    Leaving the toy football aside – seriously now, we are going to have pray very fervently for peace.
    If Putin does capture Kiev within a fortnight (he has just today announced he could do so if he wanted) then we would have the military confrontation on our hands that previous generations of European and US politicians (much more resolute than the ones we have now) faced constantly during the Cold War.
    Plus Syria, Iraq, Gaza, North Korea etc.

  32. Kerry says:

    Imagine no Jihadis, it’s easy if you try,
    Jdams and Hellfire missiles, blast them to the sky,
    Imagine all those black masks,
    Blown to smithereens, Oh oh,

    Bring peace to the world, do battle with evil.

  33. kimberley jean says:

    When you think about what’s happening to Christians in Syria, Iraq and Nigeria this whole thing seems like an obscene joke.

  34. Andrew D says:

    It can’t be ignored that John Lennon was gunned down outside the building that was at the center of the evil film, Rosemary’s Baby. The film that not so coincidently resulted in the wife of the director being hacked to death by the Manson family and the lead actress involved in scandal after scandal. We should all be extremely careful NOT to let the occult into our lives in any shape or form. That means no horoscopes, tarot cards or visits to these stealth drug dealers posing as fortune tellers (seriously people, how do you think they pay their rent). Keep your children away from Harry Potter, Wizard of Oz and this smutty Twilight garbage on television. Don’t look at movies that make satan and evil spirits look like heroes. These seemingly little things can open the door to demonic infiltration and in some cases, outright possession. Oh, and also tune out over-rated, monotone muzak with evil lyrics like “imagine there’s no heaven, no religion too”.

  35. Brooklyn says:

    acardnal – Again, from Wikipedia:

    “A rainbow flag is a multi-colored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The actual colors shown differ, but many of the designs are based on the traditional scheme of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, or some more modern division of the rainbow spectrum (often excluding indigo, and sometimes including cyan instead).

    The use of rainbow flags has a long tradition; they are displayed in many cultures around the world as a sign of diversity and inclusiveness, of hope and of yearning.

    There are several independent rainbow flags in use today. The most widely known worldwide is the pride flag representing gay pride. The peace flag is especially popular in Italy and the cooperative flag symbolizes the international co-operative movement. It is also used by Andean people to represent the legacy of the Inca Empire (Wiphala) and Andean movements.”

    Look at the picture of the rainbow flag in the post. It has the word “pace” on it. That is the Latin word for peace. This was a soccer game for peace. A flag representing peace was used. That doesn’t make sense to you?

  36. 7bellachildren says:

    Why not start a Rosary Crusade instead? Or call for world wide penance and fasting. Let’s be Catholic.

  37. marcelus says:

    The greatest of all times is on the field! Good to see Diego playing at his rithm, the whole 90′!Curioulsy mentioning his name and the Argentina jersey have been known to save lives when coming face to face with terrorists.

  38. Pingback: FOLLOW UP: Soccer Match for Peace - COEXIST sighting | Fr. Z's BlogFr. Z's Blog

  39. seattle_cdn says:

    Peace would be achieved if we broadcast this to all countries: Pope Francis playing soccer

  40. Kathleen10 says:

    Sorry, but homosexualists have absconded the rainbow flag and there’s no going back. They own it now, like it or not, and to fly it is to give the impression to the masses that you support homosexuality and all that goes along with it. If we are all “one world” as these people like to say, then let it be known that a rainbow, or a rainbow flag, bumper sticker, pin, decal, whatever, means the gay movement. God gave us the rainbow as a sign, and it has been twisted into meaning something contrary to His word. I wonder what He might have to say about that. We’ll see. But for anyone to say it means this or that in this country, and so on, you may be right, but to the masses outside of that little village in wherever, it means pro-homosexuality. The end. So keep on flying it if you want to lend, albeit unintentional, support to homosexuality and it’s tenets. If you don’t want to, find another symbol.

    Soccer games for peace when we have ethnic and cultural genocide based on our Christian identity, is really very similar to a president who plays golf and tosses a few missiles on puny targets that won’t affect the root cause. Same thing in both cases. Kerry, above, identified the way to address the evil, and Pope Francis would do much more by calling for a Rosary Crusade and a military Crusade. Evil is frightening, but we have the cure. What is really alarming is seeing those at the helm who for one reason or another are not equipped or willing to take it on, or who make speeches that indicate a lack of understanding of the origin or the breadth of the evil. It is incomprehensible.
    Yet God is at the helm of this ship. He may let the ship crash and break up upon the rocks, but He will not let it mean total destruction for all the passengers.

  41. Brooklyn says:

    7bella – I would say “How about starting a rosary campaign in addition to to the soccer game” , not “instead of the soccer game.” All of this complaining about the soccer game reminds me somewhat of the gospels when the people criticized Christ for socializing with sinners. Christ went to their homes and their parties because that is where he was going to reach those who needed him. Soccer is of extreme importance to many people in Europe and South America. If that is where the people are, don’t you think it makes sense to go there?

    No, this game was not Catholic in nature, it included people’s secular beliefs as shown in the (awful, I agree) John Lennon song. But it still brought people together and in a very positive way, which often does not happen in soccer games. It gave the Pope a platform to send out the Gospel message of peace. We have to start somewhere, and this seems like a good place to me.

    Kathleen10 – you may think gay liberation everytime you see a soccer flag, but this game was not the USA. This is a country where that flag means peace. And that is how it was being used. We need to think beyond our own little worlds and realize that not everyone thinks like we do. [We?!? There’s that “we” again.]

  42. acardnal says:

    “Look at the picture of the rainbow flag in the post. It has the word “pace” on it. That is the Latin word for peace. This was a soccer game for peace. A flag representing peace was used. That doesn’t make sense to you?”

    No.

    It is co opting of symbols by sodomites and given another meaning to suit their own goals. Pro Aborts and other subversives are very good at using this technique.

    FYI, “pace” is not Latin but Italian for peace.

  43. dmwallace says:

    Is there something with Italians and Lennon’s “Imagine”? I lived in Italy for a while during the last days of John Paul II’s pontificate and heard it many times, usually as an instrumental. It was even played for the Holy Father by an Italian school’s marching band during a Wednesday audience in which I was in attendance. Bizarre.

    What are the reactions to this soccer match amongst non-Americans? We in the U.S. are more or less ambivalent to soccer. Does this mean something to those who actually watch the sport or care about it at all?

  44. Imrahil says:

    Dear Kathleen10,

    a thief is not an owner.

    Dear acardnal,

    the flag was coined at about the same time as was the gay-movement flag. It was not co-opted, and it is even slightly different.

  45. AVL says:

    This was a little mean spirited. I mean sure its not really solving anything but come on, at least they are trying. If it was so boring you wouldn’t have posted about it. ;)

  46. acricketchirps says:

    Used to hate the song Imagine; now I love it. The secret is to listen as though you and the singer both know that it is he whose jackboot will crush the neck of the listener once she has given up to him her possessions, her country and her religion. It gives the wheedling quality of Lennon’s voice, especially, a delicious sinister quality.

  47. Polycarpio says:

    I agree with AVL. Catholic News Service has a piece in which it notes that the modern papal peace drives were started by Pope Benedict XV, whose own efforts at peacemaking efforts were “spectacularly unsuccessful.” Yet Pope Benedict XVI called his namesake a “courageous prophet of peace,” despite the fact that he was utterly unable to stop the world from going to war–maybe, precisely because of it. The world rejects our message, yet its rejection confirms its spiritual value; it does not detract from it. I would caution everyone to recall the words of the Divine Teacher in chapter 5, verse 9 of the Gospel of St. Matthew before casting aspersion on the Holy Father’s efforts to promote peace.

  48. Frank_Bearer says:

    Who’s idea was this again?

    Oh, right. We aren’t supposed to talk about THAT.

    If I hear the “he didn’t know” excuse one more time…

  49. Brooklyn says:

    acardnal – I stand corrected. However, it still proves this was a peace flag.

    Your refusal to accept another country’s symbol for peace but to insist that you know better than they do is why the label “ugly American” was coined. The rainbow flag used at the game was a peace flag. It had nothing to do with homosexuality. Your refusal to accept it and instead use to this to condemn the actions of the Holy Father does not change reality. [Who condemned the actions of the Holy Father?]

  50. acardnal says:

    Brooklyn wrote, ” …use to this to condemn the actions of the Holy Father does not change reality.”

    I didn’t condemn the Holy Father in anything that I wrote. I criticized the use of the gay flag at this function by pro-homosexual activists in the audience.

  51. Pat says:

    The rainbow colors were initially used at least 25 years ago in Europe in connection to Peace, it had nothing to do with homosexuals, In the US it had another meaning.

  52. acardnal says:

    Pat, see above images of the flag currently used internationally to represent the gay movement.

  53. marcelus says:

    So silly. Say someone pulls a gay rainbow flag at St.Peter’s..are we to indirectly ‘suppose’the Pope is somehow connected? Not that it has anything to do with the event, but the rainbow is also the flag of cooperativism in Latam. Is just a game. That’s all.

  54. marcelus says:

    I also noticed Maradona making the sign of the cross when entering the field. Probaly the only one who did that.. Messi was supposed to play too, but was injured over the weekend.

    To Maradona’s credit we must mention that he, as Argentina’s coach until 2010 (the world cup before Brazil), ordered the Ezeiza AFA national team’s training facilities chapel to remain open 24/7 , which was not.

    There is even a priest attached to the Argentina national team spiritual ‘support’

    http://canchallena.lanacion.com.ar/1697990-conoce-al-cura-que-acompana-a-la-seleccion-argentina}

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