EWTN News portal reports on what it calls “powerful moments of faith” at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, describing various Christian athletes who publicly express their religious beliefs during the international tournament. The article, dated June 20, 2026, highlights five instances where players from different nations—Germany, Croatia, Argentina, the United States, and Curaçao—engaged in public prayer, thanked God, or made gestures honoring Jesus during the competition. The piece presents these as positive examples of evangelization on a global stage.
The article’s enthusiastic treatment of these moments reveals a profound confusion about the nature of true faith, reducing Catholicism to a vague theism compatible with secular entertainment culture while ignoring the supernatural mission of the Church and the absolute necessity of the true Mass, sacraments, and submission to the Social Kingship of Christ.
The Reduction of Catholicism to Mere Theism
The athletes quoted in the article consistently present their faith in terms that could satisfy any generic Protestant or even non-Christian theist. Felix Nmecha states, “we are all Christians and we are brothers… we all believe that Jesus is glorified through the game.” Lionel Messi offers, “thank God that he has given me so much.” The Croatian players speak of faith as a “path” and a source of “strength.”
Not a single athlete mentions the true Church, the papacy, the sacraments, the necessity of the Catholic faith for salvation, or the Social Kingship of Christ over nations. This is not accidental. The naturalistic Catholicism promoted since the mid-20th century has systematically emptied the faith of its supernatural content, reducing it to a vague spiritual sentiment compatible with any political or social system—including the secular globalist order that sponsors events like the FIFA World Cup.
Pius XI taught in Quas Primas that Christ’s kingdom “extends not only to Catholic nations or to those who, by receiving baptism according to law, belong to the Church… but His reign encompasses also all non-Christians, so that most truly the entire human race is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ.” The article’s presentation of faith as a private, emotional experience—divorced from the Church’s teaching authority and the necessity of visible submission to the Roman Pontiff—reflects the very error Pius XI condemned: the separation of Christ’s reign from public life and the reduction of religion to personal sentiment.
The Absence of True Catholic Identity
The article celebrates “Christian athletes” without distinguishing between true Catholics, heretics, Protestants, or adherents of false religions. When players from Germany and Curaçao pray together after a match, the article presents this as unproblematic Christian brotherhood. “During the game, we are opponents, but after the game we are all Christians and we are brothers,” Nmecha declares.
This reflects the very error condemned by the Church for centuries. The Catholic Church has always taught that only those who are in her communion—who profess the true faith, participate in her sacraments, and submit to her lawful pastors—are members of Christ’s true Church. The ecumenical spirit displayed by these athletes, treating all “Christians” as brothers regardless of their adherence to condemned heresies or schisms, mirrors the false ecumenism that Pius XI and his predecessors condemned as indifferentism.
The article contains no mention of the necessity of the Catholic faith for salvation, no warning about the dangers of false religions, and no reference to the Church’s missionary mandate to convert all nations to the true faith. Instead, it presents a naturalistic “Christianity” of good feelings and shared humanity—precisely the “broad and liberal Protestantism” that Lamentabili Sane Exitu condemned as the endpoint of Modernist doctrine.
The Cult of Athletic Achievement as False Worship
The entire premise of the article—celebrating “moments of faith” at a sporting event—reveals the degradation of Catholic sensibilities. The FIFA World Cup is a spectacle of national pride, commercial entertainment, and pagan celebration of physical prowess. To present this as a venue for “making the name of Jesus known” is to subordinate the worship of the true God to the cult of athletic achievement.
Nmecha’s “crown down” gesture—kneeling to place an imaginary crown on the ground and point to the sky—is presented as a profound act of faith. Yet this choreographed celebration, performed before billions of television cameras and accompanied by commercial sponsorships, bears no resemblance to the worship due to God in spirit and truth. The Church has always taught that the highest act of worship is the unbloody sacrifice of Calvary represented on the altar—not emotional displays at sporting events.
Pius XI warned in Quas Primas that “the foundations of authority are destroyed” when “God and Jesus Christ are removed from laws and states and when authority is derived not from God but from men.” The article’s celebration of athletes who “honor God” while participating in a global entertainment spectacle—without any reference to the Church’s teaching on the proper ordering of all things to their ultimate end—reflects precisely this naturalistic reduction of religion.
The Omission of True Spiritual Warfare
The article’s treatment of faith as a source of “strength” and “blessing” for athletic performance reveals a complete ignorance of the Church’s teaching on the spiritual life. Nowhere does it mention the necessity of grace, the state of mortal sin, the need for confession, or the reality of eternal salvation. The athletes speak of God as a benefactor who gives “talent” and “opportunity”—not as the Judge before whom all must appear.
This therapeutic, self-help Christianity is the direct fruit of the conciliar revolution’s naturalistic turn. The true Catholic faith teaches that the greatest act of worship is the true Mass of all ages—not the Protestantized “Eucharist” of the post-conciliar sect, but the immemorial Roman Rite that offers the Victim of Calvary to God for the sins of the living and the dead. The article’s silence on this fundamental truth reveals its complete alienation from authentic Catholic Tradition.
The article contains no reference to the necessity of the true Church for salvation, no mention of the papacy or the crisis in the Church, and no warning about the dangers of the conciliar sect’s apostasy. This silence is not accidental—it reflects the very Modernism that the pre-conciliar Magisterium condemned as “the synthesis of all heresies.”
The EWTN Connection: Neo-Catholic Entertainment
The source of this article—EWTN News—represents the very type of neo-Catholic media that has flourished since the mid-20th century, presenting a naturalistic, Americanized Catholicism compatible with secular culture. The article’s focus on celebrity athletes, its avoidance of doctrinal content, and its celebration of “faith” as personal sentiment rather than supernatural submission to the Church’s teaching authority all reflect the post-conciliar reduction of Catholicism to a vague theism.
The article’s closing invitation to “receive communications from EWTN” and its reference to Father Mike Schmitz—a popular neo-Catholic speaker who operates within the conciliar structures—further reveals its allegiance to the post-conciliar establishment rather than to the integral Catholic faith of all ages.
Conclusion: The Bankruptcy of Naturalistic Catholicism
The article’s celebration of “powerful moments of faith” at the FIFA World Cup reveals the complete spiritual bankruptcy of the naturalistic Catholicism that has dominated the Church since the mid-20th century. By reducing faith to personal sentiment, by ignoring the necessity of the true Church and her sacraments, and by celebrating the worship of athletic achievement, the article presents a Christianity that would be unrecognizable to the saints and martyrs of the true Church.
The Catholic faith teaches that there is no salvation outside the Church, that the true Mass is the unbloody renewal of Calvary, and that Christ the King must reign over all nations and all aspects of life—including sports and entertainment. The article’s silence on these fundamental truths reveals its complete alienation from the integral Catholic Tradition. What it presents as “faith” is merely the naturalistic residue of Christianity after the supernatural content has been systematically removed by the conciliar revolution.
Let us pray for these athletes—and for all who have been deceived by this naturalistic counterfeit—that they may come to know the fullness of Catholic truth and submit to the true Church, outside of which there is no salvation.
Source:
5 powerful moments of faith at the 2026 FIFA World Cup (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 20.06.2026