Italian Deputy PM calls French opening ceremony performance ‘squalid’

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00:00Well, most significantly, we've heard from the deputy prime minister himself,

00:04the leader of the right wing anti-immigrant party, the League Party, Matteo Salvini.

00:09He took to social media on Saturday, saying that opening the Olympics,

00:14insulting millions of Christians in the world is really a bad start.

00:20Dear French people, it's squalid.

00:22Now, he posted this message together with two photos,

00:27one showing the apparent drag queen-led parody of The Last Supper,

00:32which was seen in one of the scenes during that Olympic opening ceremony.

00:37And he contrasted that with the actual image of the painting of The Last Supper

00:42by Leonardo da Vinci, one of the most famous paintings in the world

00:46that is located in Milan here in Italy.

00:49So clearly feeling that that somehow

00:53insulted the feelings of Christians around the world.

00:56We also heard from other members of Italy's far-right Brothers of Italy Party.

01:01That's the party of Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni.

01:04Some of the lawmakers, one of them saying, ironically, it felt more like gay pride.

01:10It wasn't really the opening of the Olympics.

01:12Another senator saying essentially that this ceremony brought shame

01:18and embarrassment to France and to Europe.

01:21And they also reacted to the fact that Italy's president, Sergio Mattarella,

01:26was seen wearing a raincoat looking rather disheveled

01:29when he waved to the Italian Olympic team,

01:32in sharp contrast, they say, to President Macron, who was under shelter.

01:36But it's clear that the parties of these leaders

01:40have in the past contrasted with the French president.

01:43And so perhaps it was in that light,

01:45but clearly they didn't like that sentiment of what they felt

01:49was an insult to Christians around the world,

01:51particularly that scene of The Last Supper.

01:54So the French Catholic Church has come out and criticized that Last Supper parody,

01:59which was performed by drag queens, as you said.

02:02You're near the Vatican in Rome.

02:04Have there been other reactions from the Catholic world specifically?

02:11Well, we haven't heard specifically from the Vatican,

02:13but we have heard now from those French bishops, as you mentioned.

02:16I mean, they started off talking about how there were moments of beauty and joy

02:21during the ceremony, but they deeply regretted what they said

02:25was scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity.

02:29They said Christians could be hurt by these excesses

02:33and provocation of certain scenes.

02:35Now, they didn't actually mention that specific scene,

02:38but one can assume perhaps that that was what they were referring to.

02:42We've also heard from across the pond, conservative Catholics in the US,

02:47particularly Bishop Robert Barron, who has a very strong presence online

02:53and on social media.

02:55He actually posted a video saying that it was a gross mockery of The Last Supper.

03:01It was blasphemous and emblematic of a deeply secular postmodern society,

03:08saying that it identifies Christianity as the enemy in such a representation.

03:12But of course, those are what some Catholic leaders have to say.

03:15Others, though, perhaps maybe enjoyed the ceremony,

03:18maybe found some portions a little bit hard to understand.

03:21But now, I guess, all concentration on the games itself.

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