French Catholic bishops react to sacrilege during Olympic opening ceremony
According to the clergy, the ceremony included scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity.
The "French Episcopal Conference", consisting of Catholic bishops and representatives of the Holy Games special project, published an official press release on July 27 following the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics and condemning the "scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity."
They noted that in the run-up to the Paris Games, the Holy Games special 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."
According to the Catholic bishops, "last night's opening ceremony, organized by the French COJOP, offered the world a marvelous display of beauty and joy," but also of disappointment.
"This ceremony unfortunately included scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity, which we deeply regret," the release says.
The Catholic Church thanked representatives of other religious denominations for expressing their solidarity on this issue.
"This morning, we are thinking of all the Christians on every continent who have been hurt by outrageousness and provocativeness of certain scenes. We want them to understand that the Olympic celebration goes far beyond the ideological biases of a few artists," the statement read.
[πππππ πππππππ] π¬π§
— Holy Games (@holygames2024) July 27, 2024
Response from the French Episcopal Conference and Holy Games initiative following the Opening
Ceremonies of the Paris 2024 Games. pic.twitter.com/gkBKe79P85
As the UOJ reported, the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris had sparked outrage in the international community due to a "travesty show", which specifically parodied Leonardo da Vinci's painting 'The Last Supper'.
