A Catholic Response to the Paris Olympic Opening Ceremonies

By the time this article is posted online, the furor over the Festivity vignette from the Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony will likely have been forgotten. But as of the time of writing, the controversy about whether or not Festivity constituted a brazen mockery of the Last Supper, or a colorful rendition of a Bacchanalian celebration continues to rage.  One can take either position about the nature of the performance. Still, regardless, there is only one Christian and Catholic response to it that appears to have been largely overlooked by some of the more vocal leaders inside the Church.

For any reader who may be unaware of the Festivity controversy, the vignette, which was part of the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics, featured approximately fifteen performers standing behind a table draped in red with a man painted blue and reclining (more-or-less) on a bed of flowers on the table.  The man in blue was apparently meant to portray the god Dionysus, or Bacchus, and the central figure at the table was an homage to a goddess or muse of music.

Based on a vague resemblance of Festivity to Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper, many Christian leaders around the world expressed outrage that in their view, the performance represented nothing less than a satanic parody of one of the most sacred moments in the life of Christ and a direct and intentional affront to the Church.

Given the vitriol of the criticism of Festivity by many Christina leaders, a few points are worth raising:

First, as stated, there were approximately fifteen performers in the vignette, whereas, there are thirteen figures in Da Vinci’s Last Supper and Christ’s observance of the Passover.  If Festivity were meant as a parody of the painting or actual meal, one would imagine that the number of performers would match the number of participants in the Lord’s repast.  This is to say nothing of the fact that the general positioning of Christ and the Apostles in the painting and that of the performers on stage was not at all similar.

Second, the central figure at the table, French DJ and lesbian rights activist, Barbara Butch, wore a headpiece that was construed by many as resembling a halo.  Ms. Butch’s apparent halo was often cited as evidence that she was meant to mockingly portray Christ at the table.  But neither Christ nor the apostles are depicted by Da Vinci in the Last Supper with halos.

Third, everyone from Ms. Butch to the writer/creator of Festivity has stated that the performance in no way was inspired by the Last Supper or Da Vinci’s rendering of it.  They further stated that Festivity was not meant in any way to parody or to mock the Lord’s Passover or Christianity.  Rather, those involved with the production have unambiguously stated that the vignette was meant to reflect an ancient Greco-Roman celebration.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the creator of Festivity and the opening ceremony organizer have profusely apologized for any offence caused to Christians.

Given the points above, it would appear that any coincidental resemblance of the Festivity performance to a painting of the Last Supper, or the Last Supper itself, was not intentional. But in certain quarters of the Church, there seems to be an insistence on taking offence where none was intentionally given and where apologies have been made.

In stating that the response of many Church leaders to Festivity is unfortunately quite un-Christian, an appeal to Scripture would seem to provide the best support. There are numerous passages that could be cited and that would make the Biblical case for this position. But selective exegesis can be used to support almost anything, from forgiveness and compassion to war crimes and torture.

Therein lies the beauty of the Catholic faith.  It does not rely solely upon the Bible for guidance, but it also embraces tradition, or the teaching of the Church over the millennia, including the corpus of work by its saints and scholars.  Thus,  the overall arc of faith is never tied only to the words of the Bible.  Rather, the Church has always embraced a nuanced reading of the Scripture that is not literal and allows for much deeper meaning and interpretation.

In the case of extremely controversial topics, such as slavery, it was just such a nuanced reading of Scripture, and an associated belief in the reasonability of the faith, that made the Christian case against this now universally abhorred practice of human bondage.  This is of particular importance as the scriptural basis for slavery was much stronger than the biblical case against it.  But tradition, the Spirit, and the reason that God gave to humanity were all used to make the truly Christian case for its abolition.  Now it is considered a mark of shame that Christians even condoned the practice of owning their fellow humans.

In much the same way, a selective reading of the Bible can and in certain cases has been used to support indignation and attacks upon the creators, organizers and performers of Festivity.  However, the overarching tradition, and indeed the very core of the faith, are undeniably about patience, mercy and forgiveness regardless of what scriptural verses can be used to support a very impatient, unmerciful and unforgiving position toward those involved in Festivity, regardless of the intent and disposition of the creators and performers.   While relying on Scriptural reference, the argument made herein based on biblical points, but more importantly on the tradition as a whole, is that there is no Christian basis for condemnation of the performance, regardless of the intent of the creators.

In order to make this case, three potential scenarios bear mentioning in order to make this point clear:

First, if the performance was truly not intended to be a mockery of the Last Supper, as the writers, organizers and performers claim, then there is no reason for offence.  A pervasive societal embrace of victimhood aside, the Church ought to be able to rise above the temptation to indignation when none was meant to be caused.

Second, if those principally involved in creating and producing Festivity intended it as blasphemy, they have personally apologized for any offence caused.  In this case, forgiveness is required.  It is withheld at the peril of those who have taken offence at the performance.  The command to Christians is unless you forgive you will not be forgiven.

Third, if the Festivity performers and producers did intend to mock the faith and were unapologetic and unrepentant, the Church still has the example of Christ who forgave his killers from the cross and the rest of humanity as accomplices.  This is to say nothing of the panoply of saints who followed our Lord at the time of their own executions.  If Christ and many a saint can forgive their unrepentant torturers and murderers, then forgiving a likely non-blasphemous performance is nothing by way of comparison.

There are many within the Church, and in society at large who relish the opportunity to express indignation.  This desire is at the core of the growing cult of victimhood.  In general, such a desire to find a reason for offence is unseemly.  In a people that claim to have received the truth of God, it is unacceptable, particularly when that truth has at its core salvific patience, mercy and love.

The Lord reserved his most stinging criticism for those who were prone to indignation by himself and the marginal of society.  He called such individuals hypocrites.  Most people know hypocrisy when they see it.  It is an ugly characteristic in the people of God, and it has consequences.  St. Paul, quoting Isaiah writes to the Ephesians, ‘My name is blasphemed among the gentiles because of you.’    Christ says that it would be better to for those who cause others to stumble on the way to him to be thrown with a millstone around their necks into the sea.  Strong words for those who make a practice of judging and condemning others.

The Church must be more.  It is to be salt and light to the world, which effectively means different from everyone else.  If it is to show the transforming power of God’s love, it must truly bear witness to His mercy and love.  Christ repeatedly makes clear that this requires a different approach to people, and importantly, that the demonstration of mercy and love is not to be limited to just those who are like the Church.  When the Pharisee asked Christ, ‘Who is my neighbor?’ the Lord responded with the story of the Good Samaritan – your neighbor is your worst enemy.  Making the matter even clearer, Christ states in Luke’s gospel that there is no merit in loving only those who love one back.  Anyone, including tax collectors and probably the Festivity performers, can do the same.  To be Christ’s followers, the Church is to love the seemingly unlovable.  Finally, the Lord went and took his followers to just such people, much to their chagrin – tax collectors, prostitutes, adulterers.  These people were infinitely more offensive to the first-century Jewish sensibility than are drag queens and transvestites to Catholics today.  Christ leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one who is lost – the sinner and the broken person.

The Festivity controversy provided a golden opportunity on a global stage to show the truth that the Catholic Church possesses God’s infinite love of humanity and transforming salvation.  That opportunity is largely gone in the context of the Festivity performance and the response by many Church leaders has likely reinforced the tired stereotypes of the Church and Christians as thin-skinned homophobes who do not practice what they preach and are more concerned with taking the speck out someone else’s eye than the log out of their own pupil.  But for better or worse, there is no shortage of opportunities to demonstrate the transforming power of God’s love and to share it with the world.  There are myriad real indignations to Christianity that the Church can seek to address.  For example, in the time it has taken to read to this point in this article, eighteen people around the world will have needlessly starved to death.  In the United States, up to thirteen million children will not have enough to eat today.

It is easy in the din and confusion of modern life, especially with the constant noise and societal imploring to indignation, to lose sight of the bigger picture and of weightier issues, even when one is a child of God.  His mercy and love are always there for his children as many times as they fail, but they are also there for the rest of humanity.  The more those who claim Christ’s name can share that love, the more a broken and blasphemous world will begin to see the reality and beauty of what God offers – nothing less than himself and true redemption and rebirth.  This is the message that is there for the creators and performers of Festivity, an imperfect Church and for the entire world.