Vatican Radio is giving cardinals a chance to comment on calcio in a new Monday show called, ''Not Only Sports.'' Italian national team coach Marcello Lippi, for one, hasn't welcomed the development, especially after Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini fell well short of giving his blessing to Lippi's player selections.
''I understand that Italy is a Catholic country, but now we've got cardinals talking out?'' Lippi said. ''I'm having a hard time understanding this.''
But Sean-Patrick Lovett, the radio station's director, said, ''It's a man of God talking sports, an earthly pastime, talking the people's language. Sports is something that the people are interested in. The church is not just about sex scandals and papal decrees.''