Catholic Leaders Join French Bishops in Condemning Last Supper Scene at Paris Olympics Opening

“This morning, we think of all Christians on all continents who have been hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes.”

The bishops added: “We hope they understand that the Olympic celebration extends far beyond the ideological preferences of some artists.”

Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta said on X he had sent messages to the French Ambassador to Malta, expressing his “distress 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 the Last Supper of Jesus.”

The prelate, who also is a Vatican official, said he encouraged others to write the ambassador.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens, chair of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, issued a statement calling on Catholics to respond to the Paris incident with prayer and fasting.

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Referencing the recent National Eucharistic Congress, Bishop Cozzens wrote, “Jesus experienced his Passion anew Friday night in Paris when his Last Supper was publicly defamed.“

“France and the entire world are saved by the love poured out through the Mass, which came to us through the Last Supper. Inspired by the many martyrs who shed their blood to witness to the truth of the Mass, we will not stand aside and quietly abide as the world mocks our greatest gift from the Lord Jesus,“ the bishop wrote.

“Rather, through our prayer and fasting, we will ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us with the virtue of fortitude so that we may preach Christ—our Lord and Savior, truly present in the Eucharist—for the Glory of God and the Salvation of Souls.“

Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester called on Catholics to “make their voices heard” in response to what he termed “the gross mockery of the Last Supper.”

The Archbishop of Santiago de Chile, Archbishop Fernando Chomali, expressed disappointment with “the grotesque parody of the most sacred thing we Catholics have, the Eucharist,” ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, reported.

“The intolerance of the ‘tolerant’ has no limit. This is not the way to build a fraternal society. We witnessed nihilism at its maximum expression,” he added.

German Bishop Stefan Oster called the “queer Last Supper” scene “a low point and completely superfluous in the staging,” in a post by the German Bishops’ Conference.

Fray Nelson Medina, a well-known Colombian Dominican priest with a vast social media apostolate, stated that he “will not watch a single scene from the Olympic Games. How disgusting what they have done mocking the Lord Jesus Christ and his supreme gift of love. And they are cowards: they wouldn’t mess with Muhammad.”

Archbishop Peter Comensoli of Melbourne, Australia, commented on X: “I prefer the original.”

‘A minority of the left’

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Javier Tebas Medrano, president of La Liga, Spain’s top professional football division, strongly condemned the Parisian drag queen scenes on social media. ACI Prensa reported that Medrano posted an image of the performance with the statement: “Unacceptable, disrespectful, infamous! Using the image of the Last Supper in the Paris Olympic Games is an insult to those of us who are Christians. Where is the respect for religious beliefs?”

Marion Maréchal, a French member of the European Parliament and granddaughter of the famous right-wing leader Jean Marie Le-Pen, addressed “all Christians who felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper” on X, stating: “Know that it is not France that is speaking” in the inauguration “but a minority of the left ready for any provocation.”

Walter Sánchez Silva contributed to this report. Last updated on July 27 with further reactions.