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14:06 01.08.2024 •
When, in 2019, Notre Dame de Paris burned down in the form of a fiery Cross, it became clear that God had left France…
What happened at the opening of the Olympics in Paris caused a negative reaction in many countries of the world, as well as among Christians. The Paris Olympics exhibition was just another pass at diluting and desacralizing Christianity to make it fit within the progressively progressive mindset, the international press wrote.
Here is a press review dedicated to the topic. Deliberately we are not publishing photos of that provocative sabbath that was arranged on the banks of the Seine.
"To all the Christians of 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," far-right politician Marion Marechal said in a post on X (banned in Russia).
Her Italian counterpart, Matteo Salvini, added: "Opening the Olympics by insulting billions of Christians in the world was really a very bad start, dear French. Sleazy."
A spokesman for France's National Rally party, Julien Odoul called the ceremony "a ransacking of French culture", while conservative US entrepreneur Elon Musk slammed it as "extremely disrespectful to Christians."
Foreign conservatives such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who sees himself as a defender of "traditional" values in Europe, railed Saturday against the "weakness and disintegration of the Western world" as illustrated by the opening ceremony.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the show a "mockery of a sacred story for Christians" and a "giant gay parade."
French President Emmanuel Macron jumped to defence, saying the ceremony had "made our compatriots extremely proud".
A storm of outrage about the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony — including angry comments from Donald Trump — took a legal turn Tuesday, with French prosecutors ordering police to investigate complaints from a DJ icon who performed.
DJ Barbara Butch said she suffered a torrent of online threats and abuse in the wake of a contentious scene at the Games' opening ceremony. A lawyer for Butch told The Associated Press that she had filed a formal legal complaint alleging online harassment, death threats and insults. The lawyer, Audrey Msellati, said the complaint doesn’t name any specific perpetrator or perpetrators of the alleged crimes.
Trump, in the United States, said Monday he thought it was “a disgrace.”
“I'm very open-minded,” the former president and current Republican nominee told Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who specifically asked about comparisons to “The Last Supper,” “but I thought what they did was a disgrace.”
French Catholic bishops and others were among those who said Christians had been hurt and offended. Paris Olympics organizers have said there was “never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group” and that the intent was to “celebrate community tolerance.”
During a four-hour spectacle in the pouring rain — which included appearances by Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, and singers disturbingly costumed as the decapitated Marie Antoinette — a tableau (rather, a parody) of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper was recreated down a fashion-show catwalk with a woman as Christ, surrounded by a gaggle of grotesquely gaudy drag queens.
This was passed off as an artistic expression of “festivité.” How the Last Supper fits in with the theme of apolitical, international, athletic contests is hard to see. Not making matters any clearer, the display was coupled with a performance by a man painted blue and posing as a Smurf-esque Dionysius (or Vishnu-esque, since we’re dealing with syncretisms), keeping Christianity and mythology in the same general categories as the fictional and aesthetical. How very quaint and je ne sais quoi.
Even under the auspices of the Eldest Daughter of the Church, the global attitude towards Christianity is being more and more aggressively swallowed up in ever-wokening jaws. In this secular appropriation or annexation or apology, Christianity is being given a blasé new aura in a brave new world.
But Friday’s blasphemy has garnered more outrage and denunciation than the Catholic world is accustomed to — and that’s a positive thing. Bishop Barron, solid as ever, made a statement calling on Catholics to “make their voices heard” in objection to what he called a “gross mockery of the Last Supper,” and the result of “a deeply secularist postmodern society.”
Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, WI and Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, TX also made their censure known while making demand for immediate reparation from Catholics.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of left-wing party France Unbowed (LFI), disapproved of the mockery of the Christian Last Supper, the final meal of Christ and his disciples, at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
In a blog post Melenchon disapproved of the parody involving drag queens reenacting Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting of the Last Supper with Jesus and his apostles, describing it as "mockery of the Christian Last Supper."
"But I ask: what's the point of risking offending believers? Even when one is anticlerical! We were speaking to the world that evening. Among the billion Christians in the world, how many good and honest people are there for whom faith provides help in living and knowing how to participate in everyone's life, without bothering anyone?" he said.
He said there were "a few things that were not so good," specifically criticizing the depiction of the last queen of France Marie-Antoinette's severed head seen through a window of the Conciergerie Castle. The last queen of France was executed by guillotine in 1793.
No one would probably think that the Olympics are a Christian invention. Yet, this year, Christians were involuntarily placed in the spotlights during the opening scene, which caused great upheaval. Drag actors imitated the Lord's Supper as illustrated by Leonardo Da Vinci. This led to consternation among Christians, but also among non-believers. According to many, this was a severe case of blasphemy. French bishops, for example, said that the Christian faith is ridiculed. The American billionaire Elon Musk called the action "extremely disrespectful to Christians".
Scenes from the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were deliberately provocative. A banquet scene was perceived by Christians around the world as a mockery of the Last Supper. Whether true or false, director Thomas Jolly wanted to unsettle viewers to assert his vision of a society where differences are transcended.
Under the baton of director Thomas Jolly, an exuberant show offered a complex vision of France, the host country — a nation proud of its heritage and rapidly evolving society.
The performance was full of surprises, derision, and sometimes provocation. One scene offended many Christians, even in the United States: it was perceived as an evocation of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper,” the meal Christ shared with his Apostles on the eve of his crucifixion. The memory of this pivotal moment for Christian faith is invoked at every Mass. Reflecting the uproar, the French Bishops' Conference issued a statement regretting the “excess” and “mockery of Christianity.”
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