Fr. John Schmoll, St. Joseph’s Church Los Banos
As a fan of the Olympics every two years (Summer and Winter alternating), I was very much looking forward to the opening of the games.
Personally, I have always found the opening ceremony to be a part of the Olympics that I had to endure. For me, it is never “must see” TV. Over the years some are better than others but, outside of the Beijing Olympics, none have been memorable for me.
I arranged for an informal watch party with my staff, where we watched the ceremony from our individual homes and stayed in contact by text. All I heard for the weeks before the ceremony was how great it was going to be and that it was going to be one of a kind.
It certainly turned out to be the latter, but fell far short of greatness. I had switched channels long before the “Last Supper” scene and went back to my default program—Forensic Files. Even without all the controversial segments, the whole thing never clicked with me and never made sense to me.
With the controversial segments, I was offended and appalled. I can only imagine how difficult it would have been to be a mother or father watching the ceremony with their children and have all the sexual storylines pop up right before their eyes.
How many questions were asked about how something that was supposed to honor sport and a nation, turned into something that denigrated faith?
After beginning to get the gist of the opening presentation, as a man of faith, I just had to ask, “Why?” Why is it necessary to make fun of the Last Supper with drag queens? It doesn’t have to be drag queens.
There have been many blasphemous changes to the Last Supper over the years. Why does anyone have to make fun of or mock the Last Supper? Why do we feel the need to mock one’s belief?
I am not only concerned with Christians. Why do we have to denigrate anyone’s faith? Whether I understand it or not, whether I accept it or not, does not give me the right to denigrate it.
I know we have First Amendment rights and, I assume, France does too. However, just because I have a right, does not make it right.
I grew up Catholic. Oftentimes we were made fun of by others. My father never allowed me to answer back in kind. “It’s not right to do that,” he would say.
My father lived out Luke 9:51-56, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face as set toward Jerusalem.’
“When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.”
There is a part of me that would like to call down fire on the French International Olympic Committee for that entire opening ceremony. However, that is not what my father taught, and more importantly, that is not what Jesus taught.
I need to pray mightily for them, and as a Catholic, I need to make Acts of Reparation. In Roman Catholic tradition, an act of reparation is a prayer, action or devotion with the intent to expiate the “sins of others.” For example, for the repair of the sin of blasphemy towards the life and sufferings of Jesus Christ.
I am not boycotting the Olympics. The athletes have trained many, many years for this moment. They were not the ones who were responsible for that opening debacle. I am praying and doing acts of reparation, and I will not be watching the closing ceremony. I humbly ask you to not watch it either.
