Catholic bishops slam Olympics ceremony for ‘mockery of Christianity’

French bishops complained on Saturday about the “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity” during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games which has upset some conservatives and has drawn mixed reviews.

The opening had offered “wonderful moments of beauty, joy, rich emotions, and was universally praised,” a statement from the French Bishops’ Conference said.

“However, this ceremony unfortunately included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we deeply regret,” the bishops said.

While they did not refer to specific scenes, the ceremony featured a segment entitled “Festivity” which began with a group sat at a table, including several drag queens, which was reminiscent of the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus is said to have taken with his apostles.

It was set to music by lesbian activist DJ Barbara Butch.

“We think of all Christians across the continents who were hurt by the excesses and provocation of certain scenes. We hope they understand that the Olympic celebration extends far beyond the ideological biases of a few artists,” added the bishops.

The statement was co-signed by the “Holy Games”, a sports programme funded by the Catholic church.

Some conservative and far-right politicians in France have also expressed outrage over what they criticised as a “woke” parade, which featured LGBT+ performers and a racially diverse cast.

The four-hour ceremony took place under driving rain, with athletes sailing down a six-kilometre (four-mile) stretch of the river Seine on 85 boats.

Entertainers performed from river-side monuments, the banks and on bridges.

“To all Christians worldwide who watched the opening ceremony and felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper, know that it is not France speaking, but a leftist minority prepared for any provocation,” far-right politician Marion Marechal wrote on X.

A spokesman for France’s far-right National Rally party, Julien Odoul called the ceremony “a ransacking of French culture.”

Arch-conservative Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban meanwhile railed against the “weakness and disintegration of the Western world” which he said was illustrated by the opening ceremony.

“Western values were considered for a long-time as universal but are seen as increasingly unacceptable and rejected by many countries in the world,” Orban said in Romania.

Show artistic director Thomas Jolly, who is gay, had pledged last week that the ceremony would celebrate “diversity” and “otherness.”