Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday condemned the Paris Olympics opening ceremony for “immorality against all Christians” and said he would call Pope Francis to discuss the controversy.
A scene during Friday’s showpiece event featured dancers and drag queens reminiscent of the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus is said to have shared with his apostles.
Organisers have said they intended to portray a pagan feast and meant no offence, but Catholic groups and US presidential candidate Donald Trump were among critics slamming the act as a disrespectful parody.
“I will call the pope as soon as possible to share with him the immorality committed against the Christian world and against all Christians,” Erdogan told a meeting of his conservative AKP party.
“The Olympic Games have been used as a tool of perversion that corrupts human nature.”
Erdogan, who frequently launches verbal attacks on Turkey’s LGBTQ community, was initially expected to attend the ceremony but said a warning from his granddaughter persuaded him to pull out.
French President Emmanuel Macron offered an invitation, “I said I could come. But my 13-year-old granddaughter told me not to go, they would organise an LGBT event. She showed me images on Instagram,” he continued.
“Can you imagine that a sporting event supposed to unify people was opened with hostility towards the values of humankind?”
“What was done in Paris is a project aiming to drag humans down to a level lower than animals,” he said.
