(DailyVantage.com) – Republican nominee Donald Trump became the latest to criticize the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics for its mockery of Christians.
Organizers of the Paris Olympic Games were forced to apologize for a staged tableau of da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper” that featured a group of drag queens as Jesus and the disciples after facing withering criticism from church leaders and government officials around the world.
In a press conference last weekend, a spokeswoman for the Paris Games insisted that the ceremony did not intend to disrespect any religious group but was aimed at celebrating “community tolerance.” She apologized to those who had taken offense over the sacrilegious tableau.
In an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham that aired last Monday, Trump described the drag queen Last Supper as a “disgrace” and “terrible.”
Trump said if he is president when the US hosts the 2028 games in Los Angeles, Olympic organizers would not present an opening ceremony like the one in Paris.
The former president suggested that even for someone as open-minded as he, the opening ceremony tableau was a disgrace.
The drag queen Last Supper drew angry criticism from the French Conference of Catholic Bishops, who described the tableau as a mockery of the Christian faith. Similarly, Egypt’s Anglican Communion suggested that the display would harm the International Olympic Committee’s “humanitarian message” and “distinctive sporting identity.”
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini blasted the Paris Games for insulting “billions of Christians” worldwide.
Speaker Mike Johnson also criticized the sacrilegious tableau, saying it was an insult to the world’s Christians.
Opening ceremony artistic director Thomas Jolly told reporters in a press conference last weekend that he was not aware of any blowback from the drag queen tableau. He insisted that the message he sought to convey was one of “inclusion” and “diversity” and that the scene was not meant to be “subversive.”
Jolly said the ceremony was designed to highlight the rights enjoyed by the French people, including “the right not to be worshippers.”
Copyright 2024, DailyVantage.com
