Praying for victory is foul

Something that delights me no end is to see Catholic sport-stars blessing themselves with the sign of the cross every time they score a goal, dot down a try, or are first across the line at an international athletics event. It gives me such a thrill to see Catholics prepared to display their faith so overtly in front of millions of television viewers.

Of course, I do hope and pray that what they are doing is thanking God for giving them the skills, fortitude and determination to achieve, not thanking God for helping them win. I find it so annoying when high profile sporting celebrities are interviewed on television and are asked what it was that made them winners, they talk about how hard they practise, how hard they try, and then say things like “the Lord was on my side”, or “God gave victory to our team”.

One should appreciate that they are prepared to talk openly about their faith and the role it has to play in their success, but I get riled when I think anyone can be quite so naïve as to believe that God takes sides. To intimate that God played an important role in one team’s victory suggests that God didn’t like the other team, and so made them lose.

I got to thinking about this a few weeks ago when a press report told of the possible demise of the Italian airline Alitalia, which for some time has been effectively bankrupt, having not made a profit since 1999. Last month the airline started cancelling flights.

This news report concerned a chance meeting between the airline’s bankruptcy commissioner, Augusto Fantozzi, and Pope Benedict at Fiumicino airport outside Rome just before the Holy Father flew off to France on an Alitalia flight. Mr Fantozzi asked the pontiff to pray for the airline. Pope Benedict replied: “I have been praying for you for some time.” At the time of writing this column Alitalia was staring liquidation in the face.

I found the pope’s doubtlessly sincere reply very funny. In a mischievous mood, I asked myself what other mundane causes His Holiness is expected to include in his prayers: Good weather at Wimbledon? A German victory in the football world cup? (If so, it seems his football-mad friend Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone was praying harder during the 2006 semi-final.) He might need to put a bit more effort into his Wimbledon good weather prayers, though that does stray into miracle territory.

I wonder if the pope is open to suggestion? Can one send him prayer requests beyond those of a distinctly religious nature, which I am sure he accedes to?

I know that South Africa and the whole of Africa are in his prayers; and during this time of political turmoil in this country, it is reassuring to know that Pope Benedict is almost certainly praying for us. But if he is indeed seriously praying for Alitalia (his answer to Mr Fantozzi might well have been an example of exquisite papal wit) I wonder if he would be open to a suggestion to pray for South African Airways as well? It also seems to be losing money as if there was no tomorrow and has to keep asking government for billions of rands of taxpayers’ money to bail it out.

Do you think we could ask him to pray for Bafana-Bafana to get them to lift their game beyond that of a mediocre primary school team so that when they play the first game of the 2010 World Cup they are not going to be beaten by 2010-0?

And what about the Lotto? A few years ago a fine upstanding Christian woman in America said she had prayed to the Lord for a lottery win on the basis that if she won, she would donate huge amounts to charity. She won millions and swore blind that it wasn’t just luck but that her prayers were well and truly answered. Was that faith or heresy?

I often ask myself whether there is actually a clear distinction between a request through prayer, and making a deal with God. For example, praying a Novena for a special request — is that just prayer, or could it be interpreted as a sort of pre-paid deal with God?

Either way, it is going to be interesting to see what happens to Alitalia. If it survives, I’m sure that dozens of American banks will be standing in line for a papal audience.