AND WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT PAGANS IN PARIS?

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So the news is about the mocking of Christianity at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. It may surprise some readers but I don’t care. In fact, I might say it was even “deserved.”

But before I go there, there is the question as to whether or not critics jumped to conclusions about what appeared to be a reenactment “in drag” of the Last Supper as immortalized in paint by Leonardo Da Vinci.

According to the ceremony creator, David Jolly, the scene in question was not meant to imitate the Last Supper but “to do a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus” and “promote tolerance of different sexual and gender identities.”

The alleged “Last Supper” was not the only seeming biblical parody. Jolly also staged what appeared to be the worship of a golden calf and a horse and rider right out of the last pages of the Book of Apocalypse.

To “flesh” out the bacchanal, Jolly, according to the AP, mixed in performances of  “a practically naked singer painted blue (who) made thinly veiled references to his body parts; a blonde-bearded drag queen (who) crawled on all fours to the thumping beat of ‘Freed From Desire,’ and “the tail end of an intimate embrace between two men who danced away, hugging and holding hands.”

And then there was Marie Antoinette’s guillotined head sitting in the window of the same building where the condemned Marie awaited her execution.

What any of this has to do with the Olympics, I don’t know, but all seems to be well in the “City of Love” because Jolly and his pals were reportedly doing nothing more than having a jolly good time, albeit in the spirit of the French Revolution. Anyway, Jolly said he was sorry if anyone was offended.

Now, to my point. Let’s assume that Jolly and his pals intended to mock Christianity, and, given the scene at issue, to mock specifically the Catholic belief in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. While I’m all for condemning sacrilege, how much worse is what a bunch of wild pagans did on the shores of the Seine than what most U.S. Catholics believe and do - at least according to polls.

I’m not preaching anything personal here, so don’t shoot the messenger. Following are some direct quotes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (“CCC”) relative to tough moral teachings contrasted with what Catholics actually believe and do. I would say again “at least according to the polls,” but most serious Catholics know these facts to be true.

On abortion, the CCC teaches that “abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law…(and is) an abominable crime.” (CCC 2271). Meanwhile, a 2019 Pew Research poll reports that only one in ten Catholics believe abortion is wrong in all cases, and, President Biden, a Catholic who 49% of Catholics voted for and who is the most strident pro-abortion president ever, continues to receive communion with impunity. (By the way, the same is true of our local governor.)

On homosexual acts, the CCC teaches that such acts are "acts of grave depravity…and under no circumstances can they be approved.” (CCC 2357) However, according to Pew: “ in the United States, about six-in-ten Catholics (61%) said… that they favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry.” And recently, the current pope has muddied the waters further by authorizing blessings for “couples of the same sex.” (Fiducia supplicans III.)

On contraception, the CCC teaches: “every action which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible is intrinsically evil.” (CCC 2370) But, according to Pew: “Just 15% of Catholics say that using contraception is morally wrong.”

And then there’s Guam, perhaps the most Catholic place in the world per capita, with also - per capita, the Catholic world’s worst record of the sex abuse of minors by Catholic authorities from the bishop to grade-school teachers.

Finally, it’s ironic that many Catholics are upset about what appeared to be a mocking of the scene wherein Christ institutes the Sacrament of the Eucharist, when, according to Pew, only one-third of U.S. Catholics believe in the sacramental presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist: that Jesus Christ is fully present, body, blood, soul and divinity in the consecrated species (bread and wine).

And we’re concerned about pagans in Paris?

Tim Rohr has resided in Guam since 1987. He has raised a family of 11 children, owned several businesses, and is active in local issues via his blog, JungleWatch.info, letters to local publications, and occasional public appearances. He may be contacted at timrohr.guam@gmail.com