World Cup: Ahead of final, bishop warns against making sports an idol
Bishop José Munilla of Orihuela‑Alicante cautions against turning soccer and its stars into idols ahead of the 2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina. He highlights the spiritual values of sport—unity, social connection, and shared joy—while warning that excessive devotion can mirror religious idolatry. The bishop urges parents to expose children to saintly role models such as St. Francis, St. Teresa, and Pope John Paul II instead of solely celebrating football heroes. He stresses that true sportsmanship involves respect for opponents, acceptance of defeat, and recognizing God as the ultimate source of fulfillment.
2 months ago
The bishop of Orihuela‑Alicante, José Ignacio Munilla, used the upcoming 2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina to highlight the positive social and spiritual values of sport while warning that elevating athletes to the status of idols can distort hearts, divert attention from the saints, and lead to disappointment when those “clay” idols fail 1 2
The 2026 FIFA World Cup final, set for Sunday, has become a focal point for both fans and the Church. Munilla discussed the match on his radio program “Sixth Continent,” noting that soccer “possesses values that deserve to be recognized” and that the tournament offers a chance for families and friends to unite 1.
Munilla emphasized that the Church can “cultivate the spiritual values of sport,” such as community building, shared joy and disappointment, and a counter‑balance to an increasingly individualistic society 2.
Because soccer moves people deeply, Munilla warned it can become “a magnificent mirror of our contradictions.” He cautioned that turning the game or its stars into a religion creates false saints without holiness, leading to inevitable disappointment when idols—made of clay—fall short 1.
The bishop urged believers to ask, “Who holds the first place in our hearts?” He contrasted modern adoration of soccer stars with the timeless role models of the saints—Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Calcutta, John Paul II, Blessed Carlo Acutis—who teach humility, mercy, and true fulfillment 2.
Munilla pointed out the “enormous financial disproportion” in professional soccer, noting that the market assigns price to what people treat as indispensable. He stressed that the real problem is not money but where admiration is placed, echoing Pope Francis: “You roar for a goal, yet you are unable to praise God with that same intensity?” 1.
The bishop taught that true sportsmanship recognizes the opponent as a partner in the game, not an enemy, and that respecting both victory and defeat reflects maturity. He concluded that while a championship can fill a public square for a night, only God can fill the heart forever 2.
Advocate prioritizing saints over sports idols in Catholic life
Prioritizing saints over sports idols is a concrete way to resist idolatry—not only the worship of false gods, but the subtler habit of giving a creature (a person, power, pleasure, fame, money, etc.) the place that belongs to God alone.
The Catechism teaches that idolatry is not limited to pagan rites; it is “a constant temptation to faith” and consists in “divinizing what is not God.”
It further explains that idolatry occurs when someone “honors and reveres a creature in place of God,” whether that creature is “power, pleasure, … the state, money, etc.”
In other words, idolatry is not mainly about bad objects; it is about wrong priority—when the center of life shifts away from God.
Pope Francis puts it in an “existential” way: the “god” on the existential plane is “what is at the centre of one’s life” and “on whom one’s actions and thoughts depend.”
He also emphasizes the danger structure of idolatry: idols “need worship,” “enslave,” and promise happiness without delivering it.
Sports can be genuinely good—joy, beauty, teamwork, discipline, even a healthy form of excellence. The spiritual danger arises when admiration becomes fixation and the sport (or its star) becomes the “reference point” that governs the heart.
Pope Francis describes how idols develop in phases:
Now consider what often happens around sports stars:
This fits the Catechism’s core definition: idolatry is honoring something in place of God.
And it matches Pope Francis’s biblical diagnosis of idolatry as a substitute for God when the heart cannot trust him with uncertainty: without the reference point of God, humans seek something visible and controllable.
The Catechism ties the whole issue to the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me… [and] you shall not bow down… or serve them.”
It also states: “To adore God is the first act of the virtue of religion… ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve,’ says Jesus.”
So the question is not, “Is sports exciting?” It is: Does it start to function like ultimate devotion—something you serve with your whole life?
The Church’s spiritual instinct is simple: when the heart is hungry for heroes, it should be fed by holy examples and by God’s grace—not by a cycle of fame.
Even in the Catechism’s treatment of idolatry, the logic is: idolatry “rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God.”
In contrast, the Catechism says the worship of the one God “sets man free from turning in on himself… and from the slavery of sin and the idolatry of the world.”
That freedom is why replacing an idol with saints is spiritually powerful:
Important clarification: the sources provided here speak directly about idolatry and worship (God alone), but they do not provide a direct, citable text on the specific Catholic distinction between adoration/worship and veneration of saints. Therefore, the saint-focused theology above rests on the general Catholic pattern implied by the “God alone” teaching, while a fully sourced “saints vs idols” distinction would require additional catechetical texts not included in the references.
Pope Francis also warns about “hidden idolatry”—especially when something appears reasonable (even “spiritual” or “efficient”) but ends up replacing God with something we can control.
In the Chrism Mass, he describes how an idol can take the form of pragmatism where “numbers become the most important thing,” and he criticizes a fascination with “statistics, numbers… the definitive criterion for discernment.”
He then connects idolatry to a loss of personal love and an abstraction that replaces the lived encounter.
This applies analogously to sports fandom:
The deeper spiritual diagnosis is consistent: idols steal the space of God within the soul.
Because idolatry is fundamentally about what commands the center of life, the antidote is not mere dislike of sports; it is reordering worship and love.
The Synod’s conclusion stresses that we must “constantly struggle against all types of idolatry” and explicitly calls for returning to worship—adoring Jesus, especially in daily fidelity.
This is crucial: if the heart’s deepest habit is prayer and adoration, sports fandom is less likely to become ultimate.
Since idolatry is what one depends on (“actions and thoughts”), you can evaluate your fandom by asking:
This approach echoes Pope Francis’s invitation to recognize the idol by naming what is “at the centre” and what enslaves.
A concrete replacement strategy is to intentionally choose saint role-models who embody virtues relevant to sports culture:
This aligns with the broader Church pattern that worship of God restores freedom from “idolatry of the world.”
The goal is not to purge enjoyment, but to keep it subordinate. The Catechism’s definition warns that idolatry is “divinizing what is not God,” not merely enjoying a creature.
So the “saints over sports idols” principle can be lived as: admire athletes, but refuse to serve them as if they were ultimate.
“Sports idols” become spiritually dangerous when admiration turns into fixation, worship-like ritual, and enslavement, displacing God as the center.
Prioritizing saints helps restore what the First Commandment demands: God alone is to be worshiped and served, and worship frees the heart from the slavery of worldly idols.