Christians in Mosul in Iraq were called on Monday to fast and pray for God to forgive the organizers of the Olympic Games for “their great insult” to Christianity during the opening ceremony.
‘We were shocked, while France is a country of secularism and humanity, a country which respects all nationalities and all religions, that such offensive behavior towards religious symbols comes from this country,’ said Monday the Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Younan Hano.
As a reminder, on Friday, during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, artists generally associated with homosexuals (drag queens) and a person who had changed their sex (transsexual) imitated the last meal of Jesus Christ with his twelve apostles ( the Holy Supper).
‘We have nothing more to offer than prayer and fasting so that God forgives this great insult to religion but also to humanity,’ added Archbishop Younan Hano.
On Sunday, the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq also condemned this representation.
‘What happened during the cere
mony (…) is shameful’, hurting ‘the faith and the feelings (…) of Christians in the world. (…) The principles of the Olympic Games aim to bring people together in love, respect and cooperation, and not in injury and division,’ wrote Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako.
Before the Church of Iraq, the bishops of France had denounced ‘scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity’.
Note that yesterday, #Paris2024 apologized to Christians.
‘Clearly, our intention was not to show disrespect to any religious group. Conversely, our intention was to show tolerance and communion. If people were offended, we apologize,’ said Paris 2024 communications director Anne Descamps.
Source: Burkina Information Agency