Bishop goes viral for reaction to Olympics' 'clear mockery' of Last Supper: 'Open season on Christianity'
Bishop Robert Barron called Paris opening ceremony a 'slap' to Christians worldwide
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One bishop who went viral over his scrutiny of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony mocking the Last Supper warned it's "open season on Christianity" after the controversial event drew backlash worldwide.
Bishop Robert Barron, the head of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota and viral Catholic influencer, joined "Fox News Live" to discuss his initial reaction to the "clear mockery" and what he believes is behind the hotly contentious opening ceremony skit for the summer games.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I see this clear mockery of the Last Supper, and for Christians, the Last Supper, when Jesus, in anticipation of his death, gives his body and blood to the world… it's… at the center of Christianity, and to see… drag queens and so on, cavorting in imitation of da Vinci's Last Supper, how could Christians not construe that as a slap?" Barron questioned on Saturday.
"I'm shaking my head at some of… the reporting there… all the emphasis on inclusivity," he continued. "I guess everyone's included, except for Christians, except for believers. They could be mocked and marginalized and made fun of all you want. We saw the same thing last year… with the LA Dodgers controversy… I know I have very little patience for that. The great avatars of inclusivity but are just brushing aside Christians."
Barron posted a video to X Friday lamenting the startling display of drag queens posing as Christ and his apostles at the Last Supper during the opening ceremony of the summer games in the French capital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"What do I see but this gross mockery of the Last Supper," Barron told his more than 285,000 X followers on Friday.
Barron continued by arguing it's "open season on Christianity" during his Fox News appearance.
"It's perfectly clear," Barron said when asked what is behind the mockery. "You have a very secularist, very materialist, post-modern culture that knows who their enemy is. The Christian churches stand as the great institutional opponents to this worldview. It's a philosophical, cultural struggle, and they know who the enemy is, so when they have a chance, they mock the enemy."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I don't think we should simply acquiesce," he continued. "If you go back to the Lord himself… to turn the other cheek and so on is not a recommendation to acquiescence or to quietude. That's a manner of engaging evil when you see it, to do it nonviolently, to be sure, but it's a way of engaging and getting… in the face of things that we see as wicked."
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The controversial Olympics display featured numerous performers, including drag queens and a large woman in a halo crown, parodying "The Last Supper," a universally recognizable painting by renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci of Christ and his apostles on the night of Passover before Christ’s passion and death.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The image sparked outrage among Christians and conservatives online, one of them being Barron, who expressed disappointment that a country with such Catholic heritage would mock such an important event from the Gospels.
But those behind the controversial segment insisted the "mockery" wasn't intended to offend Christians, but to honor the Greek god of wine, Dionysus.
Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps addressed the backlash over the weekend. "Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. [The opening ceremony] tried to celebrate community tolerance," Descamps told reporters, via Reuters.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we are really sorry."
The Olympic Games' official X account wrote, "The interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings."
Barron fired back against those claims.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"So many of these ancient gods, they were marked by extraordinary amounts of violence," Barron said. "The Christian churches… looked at the ancient myths and saw all these problematic depictions of ultimate reality. Christianity proposes a God who is indeed a God of love, of forgiveness, compassion and nonviolence."
Fox News' Gabriel Hays and Timothy H.J. Nerozzi, Ryan Gaydos and the Associated Press contributed to this report.