Selector Moerdyk’s team

I read the most amusing story in the weekly Southern Cross e-newsletter a few weeks ago about priests in Poland holding their annual “Papal Cup Ski Championships”.

If you have a computer by the way, and have not yet subscribed to our weekly e-newsletter, you should do so because the content is entirely different to that of The Southern Cross newspaper. You can subscribe by going to www.scross.co.za and clicking on the newsletter button on the left hand side. It’s easy, it’s free and it’s fascinating.

Now, having shamelessly punted the e-newsletter, I can carry on with what I found so amusing about this story.

First of all, it was the fact that they sped their way downhill in full clerical garb, with cassocks flying wildly. It made for quite a bizarre picture.

They were all competing for the “Papal Cup” in memory of their late compatriot Pope John Paul II.

According to Agence France Presse, each year ski-mad priests flock to Poland’s southern Beskid Slaski mountain range bordering the Czech Republic to indulge their passion, as bemused fellow skiers watch them whiz by in their priestly garb.

So far no nuns have taken up the challenge, but the priests insist that the slopes are open to them too.

In this race, prayers are a standard part of the warm-up routine: “May the good Lord watch over us and protect us, may he give us the strength to compete.”

“It’s Pope John Paul II who was our example,” said one of the priests. “He loved to ski, especially in these very Beskidy mountains when he was a young priest, and then as a bishop and a cardinal.”

Competitors range in age from 20 to almost 70. At 68, Fr Wladyslaw Nowobilski from the nearby village of Cisce was the oldest to take part.

Backed by 30 of his parishioners, from the southern Polish town of Bedzin, armed with whistles, tambourines and castanets, Fr Krzysztof Sontag makes no secret of his passion for the slopes.

“I train all year at the gym. Skiing and sports in general give me a lot of joy,” he said.

“Our priest is really fantastic,” said parishioners. “We come here each year to cheer him on. It really brings us closer. There aren’t many priests like him in our region.”

“Skiing in cassocks is also a way of demonstrating that the spirit and the body always go together, like the Latin expression Mens sana in corpore sano (A healthy mind in a healthy body),” Fr Sontag told AFP.

“We can do both—hold the rosary and ski poles, get down on our knees and on our skis,” he said.

The second thing I found amusing about this story was that it left me with several mental pictures of Southern African priests and bishops indulging in sport in their vestments. I seem to recall that Bishop Graham Rose of Dundee in KwaZulu-Natal was a champion hockey player and remains youthful and athletic. I still battle, however, to imagine him in his Sunday best vestments running down the wing, hanging on to his mitre and using his crosier to swat the ball across to his forwards.

I also know that Cardinal Wilfrid Napier is extremely fond of rugby and a great Sharks supporter. I can easily imagine him captaining an ecumenical team from his position as front-row forward. I remember The Southern Cross publishing a picture of the future cardinal, his leg in cast after he injured himself playing action cricket.

Bishop Edward Risi has all the makings of a world-class scrumhalf, not only because of his tough, stocky build, but also for his ability to intimidate the opposition into dropping the ball and running away.

Alongside the cardinal, I’d have Archbishops Stephen Brislin and Buti Tlhagale in the front-row, with Archbishop William Slattery and Bishop Frank De Gouveia at lock. At flank there’d be Bishops Patrick Mvemve and Botswana’s Frank Nabuasah (who would be a great ball-winner), with the new bishop of Kimberley, Bishop Abel Gabuza, driving the pack forward at number 8.

Bishop José Ponce de Leon would bring Argentinian flair to the flyhalf position, with Bishops Sithembele Sipuka and Louis Ndlovu at centre, Kevin Dowling and Michael Coleman on the wings, and Bishop Barry Wood at fullback.

The coach would be none other than Archbishop George Daniel.

The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference could put up such a formidable team that they could take on any outfit the Vatican could throw at them. Sport certainly seems to be a good way for clergy to interact with their flock. For example, only a few weeks ago in the Philippines, 100 priests from all over the country congregated to play in a two-day national tennis tournament at the Manila Polo Club to promote prayer and sport.

So, any takers, your graces?