ISTANBUL

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics has drawn significant backlash for its depiction of Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper" with a "drag queen" performance, which many view as disrespectful to religious beliefs. 

The ceremony, held on the Seine River, featured 6,800 athletes parading along a 6-kilometer route with 85 boats, and was followed worldwide through live performances and televised broadcasts.

The Catholic Church of France expressed its disapproval, stating on its X account: "Unfortunately, this ceremony contained scenes that mocked Christianity, which we deeply regret."

The controversy has led US-based technology company C Spire to pull its advertisements from the Olympics.

In a statement on X, C Spire said: "We were shocked by the mockery of the Last Supper during the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics. C Spire will be pulling our advertising from the Olympics."

Critics argue that the performance promoted LGBT propaganda and insulted religious sensibilities.

Marion Marechal, a far-right French member of the European Parliament, commented on X: "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."

French lawyer Fabrice di Vizio announced plans to file a complaint regarding the performance, stating: "As a Catholic, I swear before God that I will complain. I will do this starting Monday and invite all Christians to accompany me to address the spiritual damage we have suffered."

Bishop Robert Barron from Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, also criticized the ceremony, calling the performance "a kind of disgusting, arrogant mockery."

"France felt evidently, as it’s trying to put its best cultural foot forward, the right thing to do is to mock this very central moment in Christianity, where Jesus at His Last Supper gives His body and blood in anticipation of the cross. And so it’s presented though as this gross sort of flippant mockery," he added.

Also, Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of left-wing party France Unbowed (LFI), disapproved of the mockery of the Christian Last Supper.

"I didn't appreciate the mockery of the Christian Last Supper, the final meal of Christ and his disciples, which is foundational to Sunday worship. Of course, I'm not getting into the criticism of 'blasphemy.' That doesn't concern everyone.

"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.

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) condemned the mockery of Jesus Christ, stating: “With a lot of love mixed with astonishment and disapproval, we saw what happened during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in France, the mockery of the mystery of the mysteries in Christianity, and what is sacred to billions of people around the world.” 

It said the mockery “indicates complete ignorance of the concepts of freedom and human dignity, and this is a very worrying matter for the future of humanity.” 

Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, who also serves as an adjunct secretary of the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, has joined a growing chorus of protesters condemning a controversial segment of the Paris Olympics' opening ceremony that parodied Leonardo da Vinci's iconic 'Last Supper.' 

The Catholic Church has deemed the reinterpretation of the biblical scene as deeply offensive.

Archbishop Scicluna expressed his dismay in a social media post on Saturday, revealing that he had communicated his distress to the French ambassador to Malta.

Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning, condemned Sunday the “insulting scenes” of Jesus Christ during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris.  

These scenes “depict Jesus Christ in an offensive manner, disrespecting his honorable person and the high status of prophecy in a reckless barbaric way that does not respect the feelings of believers in religions and high human morals and values,” Al-Azhar said in a statement.

The incident has sparked widespread debate about respect for religious beliefs and artistic expression at major international events like the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued on Sunday a formal apology following complaints about the incident.

"Clearly there was never intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, we intended to show tolerance and community. If people have taken any offence then we are sorry,” Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps told a press conference.