Bishop Solis responds to the Paris Summer Olympics opening ceremony

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The Most Rev. Oscar A. Solis, Bishop of Salt Lake City

Greetings of Christ’s love and peace. A week ago, I attended the historic National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Indiana with more than 50,000 Roman Catholics reverently and lovingly focused on the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Any doubts about the health of this nation’s Catholicism were laid to rest as we gathered to worship God – Jesus Our Lord and Eucharistic King.

But, a week later, the reality of the world in which we find ourselves living out our precious Catholic faith became painfully clear at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris. The Last Supper – the celebration of the first Mass, which is the source and summit of our Christian life where Jesus gave us his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity the night before dying out of love for us and for our salvation – was openly and irreverently disrespected, taunted in a grotesque and disgusting parody.

Much has been written and said in reaction from Christians, all of them no doubt having validity. Letters sent to the International Olympic Committee or to the French government may have fallen on deaf ears. [Editor’s note: On Sunday, after Bishop Solis wrote this article, an Olympics spokesperson issued a statement, saying, “Clearly, there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group.”] But we cannot remain silent. We need to combat a culture that lacks civility, reverence and respect for people’s hearts and beliefs. Christians are not about revenge. We do not hate those who persecute, ridicule and make fun of us. Rather, we love them, do good to them, and even pray for our enemies.

As your bishop, I am suggesting an alternate Christian solution, and ask all the faithful in Utah to first, pray and make an Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, using your own words or drawing on the rich treasury of prayers for this purpose. Second, find a quiet moment before the Blessed Sacrament or offer a rosary (even just one decade) for a change of heart for those who attack our faith. And third, perform a little extra sacrifice in the coming days, whether it be fasting from food for one meal (health permitting), or giving up that pint of ice cream, or detaching from your cellphone or other social media devices for a few hours.

The mockery of our faith in the opening ceremony reminded me of words spoken by a Jesuit theologian, Father John Hardon, who wrote that “In the future, only heroic Catholics and heroic Catholic families will survive in the days ahead.” Why? Because only heroic Catholics will be able to stand against the persecution that may be closer than we want to believe.

One final thought: Make of it what you may, Saturday night there was a massive power outage in Paris and much of the city was thrown into darkness. But, high on the hilltop of Montmartre, the Sacre Coeur Basilica shone brightly against the night sky, a powerful reminder that Jesus Christ truly is the light of the world.  

Let us courageously profess our faith and proclaim God’s love to the world. We find strength in the abiding presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Our best weapon is the witness of faith in a God who loves and never abandons us, and that is something the world has never been able to ignore.