Outrage in Ankara as Erdoğan slams Olympic ceremony blasphemy

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed outrage over the "parody of The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci, which many believe took place during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. According to aa.com.tr, the head of the Turkish state wants to contact Pope Francis concerning this issue.

The alleged parody of The Last Supper has echoed widely across global media. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly considered it an "immorality committed against the Christian world," hence he announced an intervention with the head of the Vatican.

The scandalous scene in Paris offended not only the Catholic world, not only the Christian world, but also us to the same extent as them. The immorality displayed during the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris once again demonstrated the scale of the threat we face, said the President of Turkey during a speech in Ankara.

The alleged parody of "The Last Supper" during the inauguration of the 33rd Summer Olympic Games in Paris did not receive a positive reception. Artists dressed in extravagant costumes participated in it. On social media, one can find posts suggesting blasphemy.

Pope Francis has not commented on these controversies, which does not mean that representatives of the Church have remained completely silent. Archbishop of Malta Charles Scicluna, in a letter to the French ambassador to Malta, Agnès von der Mühll, stated that it was an insult to Christians.

Catholic Bishop Robert Barron called the situation a "gross mockery of The Last Supper," and then asked the question: "Would they ever dare to mock Islam in a similar way?"