‘Judge Righteous Judgement’: Malta’s French Embassy Uses Bible Verse To Reply To Archbishop’s Olympic ‘Distress’
Much has been said of one specific and brief moment during the Paris Olympics’ Opening Ceremony which triggered complete uproar of people all around the world… and now, the French Embassy in Malta has now also weighed in, specifically replying to none other than Archbishop Charles Scicluna.
“France is the country of free thought, secularism, the freedom to believe and the freedom not to believe,” a statement issued last night read. “As such, she cherishes the freedom of creation, the freedom that guided the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which enchanted the world and will mark History.”
“A scene from the wonderful opening ceremony caused quite a stir among the Catholic community and we are sorry that Christians felt offended by the dinner scene where some believed they detected a parody of the Last Supper,” the statement continued.
The Embassy then went to quote none other than Saint John, reminding people to “judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment”.
“I wanted to wait for the explanation given by the artistic director of this ceremony,” the Ambassador continued. “I’ll defer to his response on Sunday 28 July to the reactions to the dinner, which some people compared to the Last Supper: ‘So no, it wasn’t my inspiration. In fact, I think it was quite clear that Dionysus was coming to the table. Why Dionysus? Because he is first and foremost the god of celebration in Greek mythology, and the painting is called “Les Festivités”. He is the god of wine, an important symbol in France, and the father of Sequana, the goddess linked to the river Seine. (…) You will never find in me any desire to mock or denigrate. I wanted to organise a ceremony that would repair and reconcile, and that would reaffirm the values of our Republic: liberty, equality and fraternity’.”
View this post on Instagram
Last night’s statement was clearly a direct response to the message sent by Malta’s Archbishop Charles Scicluna, who had expressed his “distress and disappointment” at the ceremony last Saturday.
What do you make of the embassy’s reply?
READ NEXT: Żvog Is Coming: 140 Films Submitted For New Festival As Applications Close Tomorrow
