A Catholic leader has harshly criticized a widely criticized performance at the Paris Olympics, labeling it as “debased and blasphemous.”
Cardinal Raymond Burke from the Roman Catholic Church has emerged as a prominent critic of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games’ opening ceremony, which some believe parodied the Christian faith through a presentation that many interpreted as ridiculing Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic depiction of Jesus and his disciples during The Last Supper.
The performance showcased a contingent of drag queens and extravagant entertainers arranged along one side of an extended table, with one performer in a halo crown positioned at the center. According to France 24, the scene’s choreographer, Thomas Jolly, has refuted accusations of mocking Christianity, claiming he aimed to express “a grand pagan celebration connected to the gods of Olympus,” though numerous art and religious commentators remain skeptical.
On Wednesday, CatholicVote reported that Cardinal Burke referenced the Opening Ceremony’s scene during his homily for a Mass commemorating the 16th anniversary of the church’s dedication at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on July 31.
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Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke attends the Consistory for the creation of new Cardinals led by Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Vatican. (Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
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“Last Friday, we witnessed an astonishing display of the darkness and sin present in our world: the horrific mockery of the Holy Eucharist at its Institution for the opening of the Summer Olympics in Paris,” stated Cardinal Burke. “It is hard to fathom anything more debased and blasphemous.”
He continued, asserting, “The occurrence of such an event painfully illustrates how what was once a Christian culture has devolved into a theater of Satan and those complicit in his profoundly evil schemes, the schemes of ‘a murderer from the beginning’ who ‘has nothing to do with the truth,’ the schemes of ‘a liar and the father of lies.’
Delegations arrive at the Trocadero as spectators watch French singer Philippe Katerine performing on a giant screen during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Paris. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)
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He expressed that such a portrayal remains emblematic of the struggle over morality that is currently being fought in our society.
“Our revulsion and frustration over the occurrences at the Summer Olympics rekindle our awareness of numerous other demonstrations of open defiance against God and His salvation plan in our world: assaults on human life and its inception within the family formed by the union of a man and a woman, and assaults on religion itself and its free practice.”
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Fox News’ Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
