French Bishops Deplore ‘Derision and Mockery of Christianity’ at Paris Olympics

The French bishops have released a statement expressing their consternation over the anti-Christian parody of the Last Supper at the opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris Friday night.

Voicing their solidarity with “Christians on all continents who have been hurt by the outrageousness and provocation” of the event, the bishops said they deeply deplored the “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity”

At the center of the widespread outrage is a restaging of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper featuring drag queens in the place of Jesus and the 12 apostles.

The French bishops said they hope that Christians outside of France will understand “that the Olympic celebration extends far beyond the ideological biases of a few artists.”

The bishops’ message echoed that of European Parliament member Marion Marechal, who insisted on social media that the repulsive scene was the product of France’s far-left minority, not of the French people.

“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,” Marechal posted on X, along with the hashtag “#notinmyname.”

Bishop François Touvet, president of the Communication Council of the Bishops’ Conference, registered a separate protest “against this scandalous and serious insult to Christians around the world.”

Thomas D. Williams is the author of The Coming Christian Persecution: Why Things Are Getting Worse and How to Prepare for What Is to Come.