Outrage has erupted from Christians and non-Christians around the world over the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Many believe the ceremony mocked Christianity through what appeared to be a parody of “The Last Supper,” that included drag queens portraying the apostles and a nearly naked man painted blue.
The French Bishops' Conference released a statement condemning the ceremony, saying:
…We are thinking of all Christians on every continent who have been hurt by the outrageousness and provocation of certain scenes. We want them to understand that the Olympic celebration goes far beyond the ideological biases of a few artists.
Other bishops and Catholic leaders from around the world have also spoken out, including some Vatican officials like Archbishop Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life and Archbishop Charles Scicluna, adjunct secretary of the Vatican doctrinal office.
Churches in the Middle East are also speaking out. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem endorsed a statement from the Middle East Council of Churches that says:
What happened indicates complete ignorance of the concepts of freedom and human dignity… exploiting a global platform in this way means a decline in the global human-civilizational convergence to the lowest level in human relations, and consequently the absence of acceptance of diversity in life.
American Bishop Robert Barron had over 3 million views on his video reaction released on Twitter where he said:
Would they ever have dared mock Islam in a similar way? Would they ever have dreamed of mocking, in this gross, public way, a scene from the Quran? As I say, we all know the answer to that.
Following the global outrage, directors of the Olympics claim the “The Last Supper” was not the inspiration of the scene. Their spokeswoman said, “Clearly there was no intention to disrespect any religious group” and “We are very sorry if people were offended.”
AT
