Vatican 2014-07-11 -- The Pontifical Council for Culture has launched the "Pause for Peace" campaign ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2014 final in Brazil on Sunday evening. Adherents are asking for a moment of silence around the Sunday, July 13 match to remember those stricken by wars and unrest worldwide. Some wish for a moment of silence at the match. All wish for a cessation of bloodshed in those many areas of the world undergoing dramatic conflict in these days.

The President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi took to social media to promote the initiative heading into the weekend. @cardinalravasi tweeted, “A still, small voice of silence” (1 Kings 19,12) #PAUSEforPeace #WorldCup2014

The Undersecretary of the Council for Culture, Msgr Melchor Sanchez, explained that the initiative is part of a tradition that goes back millennia. “Sports were born around religious festivities,” he said. “Sporting events were moments of peace, when wars ceased, as for the Olympic truce,” he continued, adding, “Why not for the World Cup, why not a pause, a moment of silence, a truce for peace?"