Iraqi churches denounce Olympics opening ceremony scene
by AFP Staff Writers
Mosul, Iraq (AFP) July 29, 2024

Iraq's top churches have joined international religious bodies in condemning a controversial segment of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, which many interpreted as a reference to the Bible's Last Supper.

"What happened at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics is shameful and a mockery of the Christian religion," Iraq's Chaldean Catholic church said in a statement Sunday.

The contentious scene in Friday's parade in Paris involved dancers, drag queens and a DJ in poses that resembled depictions of the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus is said to have taken with his apostles.

Some Catholic groups and French bishops have condemned what they saw as "scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity" in Friday's parade.

"The Olympic Games aim to bring people together in love, respect and cooperation, not in wounding and division," the Iraqi church added.

Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, Iraq's top Christian leader and the patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic church, "stands with the Church in France and its Assembly of Bishops," the statement said.

Benedictus Younan Hanno, the Archbishop of the Syriac Catholic Church of Mosul, called on his congregation to fast on Monday in protest at the sketch.

"We have nothing to offer but praying and fasting so God forgives this great insult -- an insult not only to the religion but also to humanity," he told AFP.

"We were shocked because France is a country of secularism and humanity, a country that respects all nationalities and religions, that such very offensive behaviour towards religious symbols would come from it," he added.

Thomas Jolly, the theatre director behind the Olympic opening ceremony, has denied taking inspiration from the Last Supper in his nearly four-hour production, which took place in driving rain along the River Seine.

"The idea was to do a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus," Jolly told the BFM channel.

Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps said Sunday "clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group."

"If people have taken any offence, we are of course really, really sorry," she added.

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