Paris 2024 Olympics: 80 thousand people demand sanctions against organizers for mocking Christians

A recent signature campaign launched by the Christian Lawyers Foundation of Spain has brought together nearly 80,000 people demanding sanctions against the organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The campaign comes in response to a controversial parody of the Last Supper starring drag queens, presented during the opening ceremony of the Olympics, which has unleashed a wave of outrage and denunciations from Catholic leaders and others around the world.

The show, part of a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.62 billion) opening, included drag queens representing the apostles and an overweight DJ as Jesus, in what appeared to be a fashion show that apparently mocked from the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci. This act has been described by Christian Lawyers as a “horde of drag queens and semi-naked homosexuals recreating the Last Supper, in the umpteenth attempt to humiliate our beliefs with impunity.”

In the signature campaign, the Christian Lawyers expressed their deep indignation: “Little or nothing remains of the healthy spirit that decades ago flooded stadiums around the world at each celebration of the Olympics. Respect, tolerance or sportsmanship characterized this international event, in which the only thing that mattered were the athletes and the competitions in which they participated. Now, the most grotesque spectacles and the promotion of the woke ideology steal the spotlight from the talent and sacrifice of athletes.”

The organization argues that these types of shows violate the Olympic Charter, which expressly condemns discrimination on the basis of religion. “It is a real shame that they have decided to take advantage of the magnitude of the Olympics to humiliate the beliefs of so many Christians around the world,” the campaign states.

“We hope, therefore, that the person responsible for designing this inaugural ceremony receives an exemplary sanction and that this attack does not go unpunished,” he adds.

The outrage does not only come from Spain, Catholic leaders from around the world have raised their voices in protest.

In a statement published on July 27, the French Episcopal Conference regretted that the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games “included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we deeply deplore.”

“We are grateful to members of other religions who have expressed their solidarity with us. This morning we think of all Christians, on all continents, who have felt hurt because of these disproportionate and provocative scenes. We want it to be taken into account that the Olympic celebration goes far beyond the ideological prejudices of a few artists,” the message continued.

Finally, they highlighted that the Olympics must be “a movement at the service of unity and human brotherhood.” “We hope that these Olympic competitions bring truth, comfort and joy!”

Another person who referred to the opening event of the 2024 Olympics was the Bishop of Crookston (United States), Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who described “atrocious” mockery of what happened on Friday, urging Catholics to respond to the spectacle with fasting and prayer.

Bishop Cozzens, who also serves as president of the board of directors of the National Eucharistic Congress, noted that throughout history Christ “has called us, people of God, to respond to the darkness of evil with the light that comes from the Mister”.

“Jesus experienced his Passion again on Friday night in Paris, when his Last Supper was publicly defamed. As his body lives on from him, we are invited to enter into this moment of passion with him, this moment of public shame, ridicule and persecution. We do this through prayer and fasting. And our greatest prayer, in season and out of season, is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,” the bishop added.

So far, the International Olympic Committee has not issued an official response to the request for sanctions, but pressure from signatories and religious organizations continues to increase, waiting for concrete action that reaffirms the values ​​of respect and non-discrimination that supposedly govern Olympics.

The organizer of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Anne Descamps, He apologized briefly this Sunday, July 28, for any offense caused by religious representations and denied any intention to “disrespect” any faith.

“It is clear that there has never been any intention to disrespect any religious group (…) If anyone has felt offended, of course we are very sorry,” he said.