The organisation CitizenGo, which describes itself as “a community of
active citizens who work together, using online petitions and action
alerts as a resource, to defend and promote life, family, and liberty”,
had organised a bus to drive around the French capital emblazoned with
the message on its side: “STOP ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS!”.
The move
was in response to the down infamous sketch during the opening ceremony
in which drag queens, a rotund lesbian and a transexual TV celebrity –
and in the presence of a child – parodied the gathering of Christ and
the 12 Apostles at the Last Supper.
The organisation posted on the X social media platform that “six of our team members were forced to spend the night in jail for simply denouncing the mockery of Christians”.
It is reported that three of the group were female and “were forced to undress so they could be searched for drugs”, after which they were “put into prison without food and water”.
The organisation claimed that a lawyer has confirmed that the use of the bus was not illegal in any way. It quoted the lawyer as stating:
“It appears impossible to constitute the crime of failing to communicate a protest because there is no protest in the presence of one unique vehicle.”
The lawyer reportedly added: “The prosecutor pushed the law to its limits to stop the bus and limit their free speech. Moreover, the procedure was irregular.”
In short, CitizenGo says, “this is anti-Christian political and ideological persecution”.
Shortly after the arrest, the police escorted the bus out of the city.
While the hopes of the French Bishops’ Conference – which responded to the Last Supper parody by heavily criticising it while noting the need to move on and focus on the main purpose of the Olympics that is human sporting prowess – seems to have been achieved, with the Paris Olympics undeniably delivering astonishing athleticism and competition, questions and disquiet about the opening ceremony continue to rumble on.
It has not been helped by many judging that the majority of media and secular organisations, including governments, ignored or failed to call out the controversy – with Iran reportedly being a notable, if unexpected example.
At the same time, as Thomas Casemore recently argued for the Catholic Herald, the “justifications” offered by the organisers for what happened at the ceremony, and that is was just a parody of a feast associated with the mythical Greek god Dionysus, actually make what happened “even worse” for Christians.