Aalayumlo - telugu christian extraordinary song performance

I belong to Almighty JESUS

Kaka’s outpouring of faith brings joy to leaders within Christian community

It has been a long time coming, but more than two decades since God had a hand in a World Cup triumph, football is returning the favour. With heart on sleeve and slogan on chest, Kaká’s postmatch celebration in Athens on Wednesday night thrust his faith into the spotlight. “I belong to Jesus,” the statement said. Liverpool fans shuddered, undone by an ineligible deity.

As arguably the best player on earth, Kaká’s high-profile commitment to his religion is good news for church leaders. In recent times, the Italian church’s efforts to infiltrate the mainstream and spread the gospel have been much derided. When Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Pope Benedict’s No 2, created The Clericus Cup this year, an international tournament for priests and seminarians, he spoke without irony of creating a Vatican City team to take on the likes of AC Milan in Serie A. However, even Bertone would not argue that the stated aim of “reinvigorating a sporting tradition within the Christian community” is better served by Kaká and his T-shirt than kickarounds in cassocks.

Kaká, who was born to a middle-class family in Brasilia, said that he became deeply religious when he was 12. “I learnt that it is faith that decides whether something will happen or not,” he said.

Some might consider that the Liverpool fans who “kept the faith” in the face of the most testing circumstances during the Champions League final two years ago actually endured a quasi-religious experience. Other similarities shared by football and religion are obvious – tribalism, sacrifice, conflict. However, few people remember that a third of the clubs that have played in the Premiership owe their existence to a church. Barnsley and Swindon Town were founded by clergymen, while Louis Rocca, the ice-cream baron who came up with the name “Manchester United”, set up a network of Catholic priests to scout for players.
Read More