BOSTON — After the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics sparked shockwaves and drew sharp criticism for an apparent drag parody of the Last Supper, Catholic leaders in France and around the world condemned the incident.
“The values and principles expressed and disseminated by sport and Olympism contribute to this need for unity and fraternity that our world so badly needs, respecting the convictions of all, around the sport that unites us and with the aim of promoting peace between nations and hearts,” the bishops said in a July 27 statement.
The opening ceremony organized by the Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (COGOP), they said, “offered the entire world wonderful moments of beauty and joy, rich in emotions and universally acclaimed.”
However, they noted that the ceremony also “unfortunately included scenes of mockery and ridicule of Christianity, which we deeply regret.”
The Olympics’ opening ceremony on July 26 featured a fashion show featuring men dressed as women in suggestive struts, and included what appeared to be a mockery of the Last Supper.
At one point during the ceremony, a group of 18 drag artists, including several famous Drag Race France personalities, posed behind what appeared to be a long table with the Seine River and Eiffel Tower in the background.
In the center was a woman in a low-cut dress wearing a large silver headdress, reminiscent of the halo behind Jesus’ head in many artistic depictions of the Last Supper, indicating his divine status as the son of God. The woman made a heart shape with her hands as the group looked at the camera before beginning a routine.
As models took to the stage for an impromptu fashion show, characters from The Last Supper swayed on the sidelines while a little girl stood with them.
Later, a large serving tray was placed on the stage, with the top being removed to reveal a half-naked man painted from head to toe in blue, apparently evoking the Greek god Dionysus in an attempt to point out the “absurdity of violence between human beings,” according to the official English-language Olympics profile on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Organizers have come under fire for the spectacle, with critics condemning not only the provocative nature of the drag show and apparent mockery of Christianity, but also the presence of a child at the table next to the men in drag.
Some commentators claimed that the performance evoked the feast of Dionysus rather than the Last Supper, as a nod to the Greek roots of the Olympic Games. However, the vast majority associated it with the Last Supper, as the layout resembled the famous painting by artist Leonardo Da Vinci.
French MP Marion Maréchal, a practicing Catholic, wrote on X: “To all the Christians in the world who are watching the #Paris2024 ceremony and felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper, know that it is not France that is speaking, but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation.”
Italian Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, wrote in the X that “the mockery and ridicule of the Last Supper” at the Paris Olympics, which he said was “rightly deplored” by the French bishops, “reveals a profound issue.”
“Everyone, absolutely everyone, wants to sit at the table where Jesus gives his life for everyone and teaches love,” he said.
Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna, who serves as both archbishop of Malta and deputy secretary of the disciplinary section of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, has filed a formal complaint with the French ambassador in Malta and called on others to do the same.
In his complaint, which he posted on social media, Scicluna said: “I would like to express my anguish and great disappointment at the insult to us Christians during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics, when a group of drag artists parodied Jesus’ Last Supper.”
Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., who serves as president of the National Eucharistic Congress Council and who in that role recently presided over the event in Indianapolis, which drew about 50,000 people, sent a response to all congress participants about the Olympic performance.
In his July 27 statement, Cozzens highlighted the irony that just after tens of thousands of people gathered to venerate the Eucharist, “nearly 1 billion men, women and children, in person and via livestream, witnessed the public mockery of the Mass.”
Da Vinci’s Last Supper, he said, “has been portrayed in such hideous fashion, leaving us in such shock, regret and righteous anger that words cannot describe.”
Cozzens asked Christians, and Catholics in particular, to respond with prayer and fasting, saying, “We are invited to enter into this moment of passion with him, this moment of public shame, mockery and persecution.”
“We do this through prayer and fasting,” he said, asking Catholics to pray at Sunday Mass for “healing and forgiveness for all those who participated in this mockery.”
For those speaking publicly about the presentation, Cozzens urged Christians to speak clearly but with charity.
Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, founder of the popular Word on Fire ministry, who is a benefactor of Crucial pointjoined the chorus.
In a video post on X, Barron said the parody reflected a “deeply secularist postmodern society” and represented “gross mockery.”
Barron questioned why France, which prides itself on a culture of “honoring the individual and human rights and freedom” based on the country’s Christian roots, chose to “mock the Christian faith.”
He urged Christians and Catholics not to be passive but to make their “voices heard.”
Jewish commentators and people of other faiths also criticized the performance on social media.
In their statement, the French bishops thanked members of other religious denominations who came out after the opening ceremony to express “their solidarity with us.”
“This morning, we think of all Christians on every continent who have been harmed by the excess and provocation of certain scenes,” they said, and expressed hope that “they will understand that the Olympic celebration extends far beyond the ideological prejudices of some artists.”
Sport, the bishops said, “is a wonderful human activity that deeply brings joy to the hearts of athletes and spectators. Olympism is a movement at the service of this reality of human unity and fraternity.”
“Let’s go to the field of competition, may it bring truth, comfort and joy to everyone!” they said.
Follow Elise Ann Allen on X: @eliseannallen
