The French Bishop Conference has described some scenes from the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics as “mockery and derision of Christianity”.
The 2024 Olympics officially began in Paris on Friday with an opening ceremony on the River Seine. The ceremony included a litany of creative displays as boats ferried participating countries in parades over the body of water.
The event had musical performances and artistic expressions from various acts.
A particular segment entitled “Festivity” had a group of dancers and drag queens sitting in poses that reimagined the depictions of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the biblical Last Supper, the final meal of Jesus with his apostles.
The scene stirred negative reactions from Christians on social media.
Adding its voice in a statement on Saturday, the French Bishop Conference says Christians around the world were “hurt” by these scenes.
The group then urged believers “to understand that the Olympic celebration goes far beyond the ideological biases of a few artists”.
The body also thanked people of other religions for expressing their solidarity.
“In the run-up to the Paris Games, the Holy Games project, inspired by the Roman Catholic Church, has been mobilizing a large number of Catholics for almost three years, to share the sporting and popular fervor surrounding the Paris Games, this magnificent event organized by our country,” the statement reads.
“Last week, we were delighted to host the opening mass of the Olympic truce, in the presence of numerous religious, political and sporting figures.
“We believe that the values and principles expressed and disseminated by sport and Olympism contribute to the need for unity and fraternity that our world so desperately needs, while respecting everyone’s convictions, around the sport that brings us together and promotes peace among nations and hearts.
“Sport is a wonderful human activity that deeply delights the hearts of athletes and spectators alike. Olympism is a movement at the service of this reality of human unity and fraternity. Now it’s time to take to the field, and may it bring truth, consolation and joy to all!”
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