Pakistan’s Christians join global chorus condemning mockery of Last Supper at Paris Olympics

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics has drawn significant backlash in Pakistan for its depiction of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper” with a “drag queen” performance, which many Christians view as disrespectful to religious beliefs.

The president bishop of the Anglican Church of Pakistan expressed his disapproval, stating on his X account: “It was much to our horror how the prestigious event soon became a display of disdain and mockery against 2,000 years of Christian narrative, history and sacred scripture. The flaunting of godlessness and the violation of Christian sentiment was not only highly objectionable but also unnecessary in light of the heritage of sports, endurance and the striving for victory.”

The bishop said that Pakistan’s Christians “are no exception in our grief at the violation and mockery against Da Vinci’s Last Supper, Christian family values and the disregard for the faith of many athletes.

“Europe, today, stands on the shoulders of a sacred art, cathedrals and missionaries who were dismissed and canceled in one disappointing opening ceremony- in fact we all were. May we never take this freedom of speech and expression so lightly that it tramples the sentiments of believers and faithful worshipers by consistently re-colouring and redefine the values at the heart of human life, hope and redemption,” he stated.

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