Paris 2024 organizers have apologized to Catholics and other Christian groups angered by a kitschy painting of the Olympic opening ceremony that parodied the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci “The Last Supper”. Apology for what – for the extravagance, for the provocation, for the reference, for the discomfort of Jesus Christ being transsexual, for the desired effect. Yes, the effect of “The Last Supper” it worked, definitely. There is no such thing as bad advertising. That's right!
But…
The segment, which resembled the biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his apostles sharing a last meal before the crucifixion and featured drag queens, a transgender model and a nude singer dressed up as the Greek god of wine Dionysus, caused... reaction from the Catholic Church and the religious right in America.
„It is clear that no disrespect to any religious group was ever intended. The opening ceremony sought to celebrate the tolerance of the community, Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps said at a news conference. - We believe that this ambition was achieved. If people were offended, we are truly sorry.“
The desired effect - first you hit the faith, and then you say with dignity that you are sorry. And this is because France, while proud of its rich Catholic heritage, also has a long tradition of secularism and anticlericalism. Blasphemy is not only legal, but is also considered by many to be a fundamental pillar of free speech.
The Catholic Church in France said it condemned a ceremony that "included scenes of mockery and mockery of Christianity".
In Germany, the Bishop of Passau, Stephan Oster, said: “An impressive start to a hopefully peaceful Games. The strange “Last Supper“ however, it was a low point and completely unnecessary in the context.“
Thomas Joly, the artistic director and “brain“ behind the lavish opening ceremony, said religious subversion was never his intention. And again we come to that “but“, relative to which the effect is achieved. Everyone is talking and commenting.
“We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that“, Jolie also said.
It may be as simple as that, but transsexual next to Jesus Christ – no thanks.