ROME—I had a chat with the Pope the other day. I left The Vatican believing that sports has never been more important.
My exchange with Pope Leo was the culmination of two-plus days of discussions, organized by the Vatican, on topics deemed critically important to the leader of the Catholic Church—things such as artificial intelligence and humanity, which was a central theme of Leo’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, comprised of some 42,300 words.
Being a native New Yorker, of course I brought up Magnifica Basketballitas™ when talking about the Knicks, who galvanized the city like never before. The team’s run to the NBA title made an entire city downright giddy—hadn’t seen that before. Also, I saw Jim Dolan beaming.
The entire affair was off the record, so I can’t completely share who was there or what they said. I can say this: The 80-or-so people who participated in the retreat at Borgo Laudato Si, the Pope’s retreat outside of Rome, really, really like sports.
There were former professional athletes, including household names with championship rings. There were too many Olympians to count. There was even a diplomat who witnessed ping-pong diplomacy 55 years ago. I lost count of how many people came up to me, sharing a favorite sports moment and how it made them feel. They all saw sports as a conduit to a better world.
