Anger is simmering in Mumbai’s Christian community about the parody of Jesus Christ’s Last Supper at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics last week.
Priests have called for a boycott of the Games and the companies that have sponsored the event. Members of the Catholic Church have been asked to write to the organising committee to protest the “blasphemous” depiction of a sacred event. The Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, released a statement last Wednesday condemning the show, which featured drag characters re-enacting the popular image of the Last Supper painted by Leonardo da Vinci.
In a video titled ‘Ma foi n’est pas un jeu’ (French for ‘My faith is not a game’) that is being shared widely in the community, Father Daniel Fernandes, priest at Infant Jesus Church, Jogeshwari, accused the organisers of advocating a blatantly corrupt “woke” culture.
Fernandes said that a country that has given revered Catholic saints such as St Vincent de Paul and St Joan of Arc has mocked an event that holds profound spiritual significance. “The Catholic community is very upset. This is not expected from a country that has given Catholic saints. The Olympics are a celebration of sports and diverse culture; do not mix up these,” Fernandes said, adding he has sent a letter to the organising committee.
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Fernandes has asked Christians not to watch the Olympics and withdraw support to companies sponsoring the event, including names like Samsung, Airbnb, Toyota, Intel, Coca-Cola, Alibaba, Deloitte, Allianz, P &G, Sanofi and Panasonic. The companies have been asked to discuss the outrage in the Christian community with the organisers.
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The Last Supper is the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his 12 apostles before he was crucified. Da Vinci recreated the scene depicting the apostles’ reaction to Jesus’ announcement that he will be betrayed.
Catholic bishops in the United State have called out the mocking of Christ and others have called the event a representation of “woke dystopia”. The organisers have responded to the accusations by saying that the show celebrated community tolerance and has tried to “push boundaries in a country where they have the freedom to do so”. The organisers have also said that the show was inspired by Greek mythology.
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