(ANALYSIS) Before the start of the Winter Paralympics, a 70-member choir from Abbiategrasso performed in Milan, promoting inclusion of people with disabilities. Backed by the archdiocese’s outreach, the concert highlighted unity over segregation, echoing Paralympic values and urging communities to “change the game” so everyone can participate.
Read MoreThe pontiff reflected on his own memories of playing soccer as a child in Argentina. Francis also described sports as an experience of the “sense of fraternity,” because friends would play “knowing only opponents on the field, never enemies.” Sports offer lessons in life, he added, as players learn from the highs of winning, the effort it takes to win, and the loss of defeat.
Read MoreAs a blind child in rural Kenya, Henry Kirwa endured a lifetime of stigma, isolation, and lack of education and opportunity - until he discovered he was fast. Sustained by his Christian faith, running became his ticket to a better life, culminating in multiple Paralympic gold medals and new life as a U.N. honoree.
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