Last Supper Mockery at Olympics Opening Part of Attempts to “cheapen Christian themes”: Catholic Bishop, SIGNIS Africa

“That this decadent caricature of one of the most cherished events of Christianity is publicized in France with a rich and old Christian heritage and at the Olympic games detracts from the status of the event and belies all claims to enduring civility and respect for freedom of religion in the West,” Bishop Badejo laments.

He calls upon Christians to “exercise their right of outrage and boycott to the extent that the damage already caused can be mitigated and redressed and future occurrences prevented.”

“Governing bodies and organizations should take full responsibility for accommodating such insulting, tasteless art and expressions that can potentially cause further hurt and division in our already hurting and fractured world,” the member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication since his appointment in December 2021 emphasizes.

He goes on to extend “huge thanks to all who correctly expressed outrage on the subject well ahead” his own statement.

Focusing his attention on Africa, Bishop Badejo counsels, “Regardless of what we go through as Africans we must never disrespect or thrash religious symbols and sentiments which touch people at their deepest levels of their being.”

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To disrespect religious symbols, the President of CEPACS says, is to “throw our humanizing and spiritual values and ideals to the dogs.”

“Africa must never follow the West in that path,” he emphasizes in his July 29 statement to ACI Africa.

The leadership of Signis Africa has aligned itself with Bishop Badejo’s statement and called upon Signis members across the continent “to publicize the statement”.

“As professionals who apply their talents in the use of communication to promote cultural harmony, we are conscious of the fact that images can be deployed mischievously to promote cultural and religious disdain,” Signis Africa President, Fr. Prof. Walter Ihejirika, says in a July 29 statement ACI Africa obtained.

It is in this regard, Fr. Ihejirika adds, that Signis Africa members, who he says include “Catholic clergy, religious, laymen, and women who are engaged in the work of media and communication” align themselves “totally” with Bishop Badejo’s July 29 statement.

“The Board of SIGNIS Africa urges all our members to publicize the statement of Bishop Badejo across the continent as a way of registering our displeasure with the organizers of the Paris Olympics for the outrageous and insulting depiction of the Last Supper,” the Professor of Development Communication and Media Studies in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria’s Rivers State says.

The controversial scene sparked a wave of incensed reactions and denunciations from Catholic leaders and others around the world. In a statement issued July 27, members of the Bishops' Conference of France said, “We thank the members of other religious denominations who have expressed their solidarity. This morning, we think of all Christians on all continents who have been hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes.”

The organizers of the Paris 2024 opening ceremony have since apologized to those offended by the portrayals, but still defended the concept, with the Director of the ceremony saying the scene meant to celebrate diversity.

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