The organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have expressed their regret after the Catholic community reacted to a scene in the opening ceremony of the Games in which cross-dressing male (drag queen) performers appeared as Jesus’ apostles from The Last Supper.

“If people were offended, of course we regret it,” Paris Organizing Committee spokeswoman Anne Desang said on Monday (Aug. 29).

The opening ceremony on Sunday featured a parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper.

Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” depicts Jesus having dinner with his apostles for the last time before his arrest and death.

In the opening ceremony, drag queen performers gathered around a woman dressed in blue in front of a long dining table, depicted as Jesus’ apostles.

The intention was to highlight France’s tradition of satire, but some criticized it for being too dismissive of religious sensitivities.

“What else can I see but this disgusting mockery of the Last Supper,” said Bishop Robert Barron, one of America’s ‘star’ religious figures and head of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, expressing outrage at what he called a ”disgusting, frivolous mockery.

While the organizers expressed regret at the religious backlash, they said the event was meant to celebrate “the spirit of ‘tolerance’ in the community. It was never our intention to disrespect any religious community,” the organizers said, adding, ”We believe that this intention was well demonstrated.” 메이저사이트