Olympics Opening Ceremony Was Celebration Of ‘Community Tolerance,’ Organizers Say

Paris Olympics organizers backtracked on Sunday and apologized for an anti-Christian display that has generated global outrage.

In a mockery of the last supper — when Jesus broke bread with his disciples for the final time just days before he was crucified — the opening ceremony featured a number of drag queens and transgender individuals in a reenactment of one of the most sacred symbols of Christianity. A number of children were also sprinkled in amongst the anti-Christian display.

The opening ceremony also featured a naked man painted in blue and a “woman” with a beard.

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The ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, claimed that the ceremony was meant to “celebrate diversity”

As outrage and condemnation poured in from faith leaders, political leaders and influential figures around the world, Olympics organizers commented on the anti-Christian display for the first time.

Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps was asked about the backlash during an International Olympic Committee news conference on Sunday.

“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think (with) Thomas Jolly, we really did try to celebrate community tolerance,” Descamps said. “Looking at the result of the polls that we shared, we believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense we are, of course, really, really sorry.”

Jolly issued his own thoughts on the ceremony in a statement to the Associated Press.

“My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,” Jolly said. “Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”

In response to the anti-Christian opening ceremony, one of the largest internet service providers in the United States announced they would be pulling their ads from the Olympics.

“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,” the company wrote in an X post.

Faith leaders and lawmakers from around the globe have also weighed in on the matter.

“I think, folks, what’s interesting here is this deeply secularist, post-modern society knows who its enemy is. They’re naming it. And we should believe them. They’re telling us who they are. We should believe them. But furthermore, we Christians, we Catholics, should not be sheepish. We should resist, we should make our voices heard,” said Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester.

Barron noted that France has long been a center of Christianity and is home to more than 40 million Christians.

A group of French Bishops echoed Barron’s statement in a press release of their own. The statement expressed outrage over “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we deeply deplore.”

“We thank the members of other religious denominations who have expressed their solidarity,” the statement continued. “This morning, we think of all Christians on all continents who have been hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes.”

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