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Praying and Cheering for the World Cup
13 June 2006Nicole Greenfield: Today is St. Anthony's Day, the patron saint of Brazil, and soccer fans are excited. Parishes throughout Sao Paulo have set up big screens and decorated with flags to encourage church-goers to stay after mass and watch today's World Cup match against Croatia. Despite the fact that Brazil is the tournament's favorite, many nationals will surely be calling on the saint of happiness today to provide support for their team. There's only one problem: Croatia is also Catholic and its fans will certainly be pleading for St. Anthony's help as well. Meanwhile, Cambodia's 40,000 Buddhist monks have been granted permission to watch this year's the World Cup matches, provided that they remain passive while doing so. Cheering, betting, or watching a game in public will result in losing their monkhood, Phnom Penh patriarch Non Nget warns. A sharp contrast to Brazil's religious leaders who are sure to be among the loudest yelling "GGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL!"
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