evidence: Today, technology allows people in many parts of the world to have at their disposal many things with surprising ease. In this context, it is easy for a person to lose sight of the need for effort and sacrifice to achieve one’s goals. But in sport, whoever fails to develop these virtues also fails to persevere in the practice of sport itself and therefore will not reach any proposed goals. Here, the Christian understanding of freedom applies to sport in that freedom allows humans to make proper choices and sacrifices even when they are required to go through the "narrow gate."[30] [...] While the technological and digital revolutions have brought many benefits to humanity and it is right to celebrate these, the current dominant technological paradigm also has negative impacts. According to Pope Francis, these are evident in a number of symptoms, "such as environmental degradation, anxiety, a loss of the purpose of life and of community living." [86] [...] [71] Francis, Address to participants of the Conference "Sport at the Service of Humanity", 5 October 2016.