Pope calls upcoming Olympics ‘an opportunity to establish a truce’

Over the weekend, Pope Francis issued remarks concerning the 2024 Paris Olympics, per the Chicago Catholic .

He called for peace and urged the global community to see the event as a chance to establish a truce.

The pope’s words come amid ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. Olympians at the Paris Games hail from opposing countries involved in the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars, per Reuters .

Pope’s remarks on the Olympics

“As is the custom of this ancient tradition, may the Olympic Games be an occasion to call for a cease-fire in wars, demonstrating a sincere desire for peace,” Pope Francis said after praying with visitors in St. Peter’s Square, according to the Chicago Catholic . “I hope that this event may be a beacon of the inclusive world we want to build and that athletes, with their sporting testimony, may be messengers of peace and authentic models for young people.”

The pope’s remarks over the weekend built on a short message he sent to Archbishop Lauren Ulrich of Paris. The archbishop initiated this year’s Olympic truce on July 19 at a Catholic mass in Paris.

The Olympics can be “an exceptional meeting place between peoples, even the most hostile. The five interlinked rings represent the spirit of fraternity that should characterize the Olympic event and sporting competition in general,” read the pope’s letter, per the Chicago Catholic . “I therefore hope that the Paris Olympics will be an unmissable opportunity for all those who come from around the world to discover and appreciate each other, to break down prejudices, to foster esteem where there is contempt and mistrust and friendship where there is hatred.”

“The Olympic Games are, by their very nature, about peace, not war,” Pope Francis declared.

The Olympic truce started with the original Olympics in ancient Greece. Conflict was paused during the Games in order to allow athletes to travel and compete in safety. The International Olympic Committee, in tandem with the United Nations, brought back the custom in 1992, per the Olympics’ official website .

This summer’s Olympic Games will end on Sunday, Aug. 11.

Ukraine’s participation in the Olympics

Ukraine is one country that has sent a delegation to the Olympics while embroiled in a war.

“It’s ... an achievement for Ukrainians that, despite the war and full-scale Russian terror, we have prepared and are participating in the Games,” said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a recent address, per The Straits Times .

This year, Ukraine’s delegation consists of only 140 athletes — fewer athletes than it has sent to other Games held since the post-Soviet era.

Zelenskyy thanked Olympians and all else “who (help) Ukraine maintain as many elements of normal life as possible,” according to The Straits Times .

Some Ukrainian athletes have told reporters that focusing on the Games is more difficult than usual, given the war raging in their homeland.

“This is a great responsibility. I have pledged to do everything to make my country and my son proud,” said Ukrainian Olympian Parviz Nasibov, who won a silver medal in wrestling at the last Summer Games, per Reuters . “But with everything going on in our country, with missiles flying about, my dreams take second place. I will be thinking about my family and my son.”

Olympic fencer Olena Kryvytska has a brother fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war. She told Reuters that he plans to cheer her on from the front lines. “I think all the athletes who put in good performances will give them extra motivation,” she said.