The organising committee behind the Paris Olympics has offered an apology of sorts to Christians around the world, though one that appeared mitigated by the fact that Catholics and other religions chose to "take offence" at some of the "celebratory" scenes that occurred during the opening ceremony to the Games.
The ceremony on 26 July, during which the involvement of drag queens and hyper-sexualised LGBT culture was a prominent theme, featured a sketch where a group of drag queens, a transgender model and a rotund woman wearing an aureole halo crown posed themselves at a table in a style parodying the iconic image of Christ and his apostles at the Last Supper. <br><br>The scene also involved the appearance of a man covered in blue body paint who, as opposed to interpretations assuming he was an oversized Smurf, was reportedly meant to represent the Greek mythical god Dionysus. The bizarre scene not only caused confusion but also shock and consternation that one of the central moments in the Christian religion could be reduced to such parody and farce.
“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group,” the Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps said at a press conference, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/28/paris-olympics-organisers-apologise-to-christians-for-last-supper-parody"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reports</mark></a> the <em>Guardian</em>, following <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/mounting-catholic-pushback-against-olympic-games-opening-ceremony/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">outrage and shock expressed by Catholics and Christians around the world</mark></a>. [The ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance. We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are really sorry.”
In addition to the press conference, the organisers took to the social media platform <em>X</em> to try and explain what happened, <a href="https://x.com/Olympics/status/1816929100532945380"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">claiming</mark></a> the scene was an “interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus [that] makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings".
The artistic director of the Olympics’ opening ceremony, Thomas Jolly, also tried to diffuse the situation, stating that “our subject was not to be subversive” and “we never wanted to be subversive”, <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/tech-company-pulls-olympics-advertising-after-opening-ceremony-display-many-deem-anti-christian"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reports</mark></a> <em>Fox News</em>.<br><br>He added: “We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that. In France, we have freedom of creation, artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country.”
The President of the Paris Olympic Games, Tony Estanguet, also addressed the controversy caused by the opening ceremony.<br><br>“We imagined a ceremony to show our values and our principles, so we gave a very committed message,” Estanguet said. “The idea was to really trigger a reflection. We wanted to have a message as strong as possible.”
He also noted that “it is a French ceremony for the French games” and “so we trusted our artistic director”, adding: “We have freedom of expression in France, and we wanted to protect it.”
Among myriad Catholic voices who didn't see it that way and have spoken out against the ceremony, ranging from individuals such as Bishop Robert Barron and the American football star Harrison Butker, to the French Bishops Conference, who decried the inclusion of "scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity", the <em>Guardian</em> notes the response of an article in <em>Avvenire</em>, a daily Italian newspaper affiliated with the Catholic church. <br><br>The article highlighted, as well as questioned, the increasingly prevalent trend in modern culture “of having to experience every single global event, even a sporting one, as if it were a Gay Pride”.<br><br>Writing for the <em>Spectator</em>, Gareth Roberts <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/has-the-opening-ceremony-finished-yet/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">takes issue with Jolly's explanation</mark></a> that "I wanted everyone to feel represented", in regard to how the artistic director approached the opening ceremony. <br><br>Roberts goes on to say: "This is a telling remark. Because ‘everyone’ doesn’t actually mean everyone, it means only the narcissistic elements of newly sacralised minorities. Nobody else exists.
"Like all of this culture, it was contemptuous, shambolic (the Olympic flag was flown upside down) and pompous."<br><br><strong>RELATED: <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/bishop-barron-slams-gross-mockery-of-last-supper-and-christian-faith-during-olympic-games-opening-ceremony/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Bishop Barron slams ‘gross mockery’ of Last Supper and Christian Faith during Olympic Games opening ceremony</mark></a></strong>
<strong>RELATED: <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/god-is-not-mocked-harrison-butker-weighs-in-on-last-supper-controversy-at-olympics-ceremony/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">‘God is not mocked’: Harrison Butker weighs in on Last Supper controversy at Olympics</mark></a></strong>
<em>Photo: American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga performs at the Pont de Sully beside the Seine River before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 2024. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.)</em>
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