Pope Francis talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a private meeting at the Vatican. Photo: CNS/Alessandro Di Meo via Reuters. Letter from Rome
Last week Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a phone call to Pope Francis in which he urged a collective condemnation of what he said was the “ridicule” of moral and religious values at the Olympic opening ceremony. News of the call was published in an August 1 statement published on the Office of the President’s official account on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
According to the statement, President Erdoğan during the call insisted that “the immoral displays performed at a section of the opening of the Paris Olympic Games have caused outrage and provoked reactions President Erdoğan apparently argued that “religious and moral values have been ridiculed and that the honour of humanity has been trampled upon under the guise of freedom of expression and tolerance”.
Division
“Challenging the religious values and spreading perverse propaganda during the Olympic Games, which are actually held to unite… humanity, act as an alarm bell against the moral decay the world is drifting to,” the statement said. During the call, President Erdoğan also condemned Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, calling it a “genocide” that is causing a “major humanitarian crisis.”
He also accused Israel of “perpetrating massacres under the diplomatic, economic and military umbrella provided to it by some countries.” The recent killing of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh and attacks on Lebanon, according to the statement, were also mentioned by President Erdoğan as what he said amounts to proof that “Israel is a threat to the entire region as well as the entire world and humanity”.
He argued that “the alliance of humanity must take action before it is too late in order for Muslims and Christians, particularly those living in Palestine, to find peace.” President Erdoğan, the statement said, voiced his belief that it would be helpful for Pope Francis to hold talks with countries supporting Israel with the aim “of stopping the attacks and achieving lasting peace before the political, security and social structure of the region and the world sustains a permanent damage. According to the statement, Pope Francis on his part thanked President Erdoğan for “his efforts towards peace and for his sensitivity against the desecration of religious values”.
The call between President Erdoğan and Pope Francis came after the July 26 opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics sparked backlash for featuring a drag parody of the Last Supper and a scantily clad man in blue, reportedly representing the Greek god Dionysus, singing while appearing to be naked as he performed.
“They insisted that the performance was in reference to artistic depictions of the Feast of Dionysus”
After broad backlash from prominent Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, representatives of the International Olympic Committee later apologised for the performance, saying, “Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group”.
They insisted that the performance was in reference to artistic depictions of the Feast of Dionysus, however, drag performers themselves stated in media interviews and on social media that it had, in fact, been a reference to the Last Supper.
Controversy
Fresh controversy erupted at the Olympics again Thursday, after Italian boxer Angela Carini forfeited a match against Algerian Imane Khelif, who was disqualified from the women’s world championships in 2023 for failing gender eligibility tests, in the women’s boxing competition just 46 seconds into the fight.
Khelif is not transgender, but reportedly has higher than usual levels of testosterone, and has presented with the male “XY” chromosomes. Ms Carini, who received two punches from Khelif to the face before opting to withdraw, said she had never been hit as hard as she had then, and that she was struggling to breathe after being hit twice in the nose.
“The Olympic celebration, they said ‘goes far beyond the ideological biases of a few artists’, the bishops stressed”
She was later consoled by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, saying on her Instagram page, “I know you won’t give up, Angela, and I know one day you will win what you deserve with effort and sweat. In a competition that is finally equal.” The Vatican has not confirmed the occurrence or contents of phone call between Erdoğan and Pope Francis.
In a statement July 27, the French bishops deplored the scenes at the opening of the Olympic Games. While the ceremony was a “marvellous display of beauty and joy, rich in emotion and universally acclaimed,” they said, it “unfortunately included scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity, which we deeply regret.” The Olympic celebration, they said “goes far beyond the ideological biases of a few artists”, the bishops stressed.