Bishop Robert Barron, a prominent Catholic leader and evangelist, this week condemned the opening ceremony of the Paris Summer Olympics for making a “mockery of this very central moment of Christianity.”
Barron, head of the Winona-Rochester Diocese of Minnesota and an influential figure in Catholic circles, I posted a video X-Friday lamented a shocking performance by drag queens dressed as Christ and his apostles at the Last Supper, part of the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in the French capital.
“This is nothing but a vicious mockery of the Last Supper,” Baron told X’s more than 285,000 followers on Friday.
Baron told Fox News Digital that the spectacle of drag queens performing the “Last Supper” was a sign that Western Christians were becoming too passive and “weak”.
Three drag queen torchbearers appear along the Paris Olympic torch relay route
Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, has condemned the blasphemous display of “The Last Supper” at the opening ceremony of the Paris Summer Olympics. (Word on Fire Ministries)
The controversial show featured a cast of performers including drag queens and large women wearing halo crowns, parodying “The Last Supper,” a world-famous painting by Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci that depicts Jesus and his apostles on Passover night before his passion and death.
The image sparked outrage among Christians and conservatives online, with Baron among them expressing dismay that a country with Catholic traditions would mock such an important event recorded in the Gospels.
“France, in its quest to express its culture to the fullest extent, seems to have thought it was right to mock a very central moment in Christianity – Jesus offering his body and blood at the Last Supper before the cross – and present it as a very flippant mockery,” he said.
Recently, major Catholic Conference The exhibition on the body and blood of Christ in the sacrament of Eucharist continued, pointing out that the display was too at odds with France’s Catholic history.
“France was once called the eldest daughter of the Church. Paris is where we were born. Thomas Aquinas taught, Vincent de Paul was there, Louis IX, Saint Louis. France has sent Catholic missionaries all over the world.”
He further emphasised this point, saying, “France has a culture that is deeply rooted in Christianity, which values respect for the individual, human rights and freedoms, and so it considered it right to ridicule the Christian faith.”
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A view of the Eiffel Tower with the Olympic rings and flags of participating countries painted on it from Trocadero Square ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, on July 21, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Foig/Getty Images)
Suggesting that the left is openly opposed to Christianity, Bishop Barron said, “I think what’s interesting, folks, is that this very secular, postmodern society knows who their enemy is. They’ve named their enemy, and we should believe them.”
The Pope then urged Catholics and Christians not to cower or become submissive in the face of such anti-Christian prejudice, adding: “We Christians, Catholics must not cower, we must resist, we must speak out.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Barron told Christians how to counter this hostility, saying, “Christians should always resist evil, and I believe we have become too soft on our cultural opponents. As evidenced by the work of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesus’ command to turn the other cheek is in no way the same as passivity.”
“Dr. King used nonviolent means to disrupt ingrained wrongdoing in our society. Turning the other cheek and going the extra mile is a practical strategy to return someone’s wrongdoing to them and encourage them to stop and repent,” he said.
“We should follow the example of Dr. King in his fight for justice. We should denounce evil, expose it, make it known for how evil it is, and try to get in its way,” Baron said. He also highlighted how effective social media can be in fighting evil, saying, “Today, I believe social media gives us the means to achieve all of these ends. That’s why I used my platform to fight back against what was happening in Paris, and I think it was pretty effective.”
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