According to the well-known Czech cardinal and archbishop emeritus of Prague, Dominik Duka, the shamrock of the Olympic Games was created by abusing athletes for ideology.
Photo: ČTK / Taneček David
Czech Cardinal Dominik Duka.
Duke compared the Paris Games to the Nazi Games that took place in Berlin in 1936 and the Moscow Games in 1980. In his post on the X network, he spread misinformation about the Algerian boxer Imán Khalifova and the depiction of the Last Supper during the Games’ opening ceremony.
“What to say? How did the Olympics go? Many have overtaken me. The trefoil of the Olympics was created in 1936 Berlin, 1980 Moscow and now Paris 2024. The Olympics established peace. Therefore, the mentioned three Olympics contradict these principles,” the cardinal wrote on his blog.
“Sportsmen were used for other purposes: Nazism, Communism and new ideologies that actually tell us that there is no human identity. For that reason, however, there is no right and there is no need for peace and friendship,” continued Duka.
In his text, he also criticized the Algerian boxer Imán Khalífová. She drew attention to herself especially during the eight-final match of the Olympic tournament against the Italian Angela Carini, who received several hard blows from the Algerian and then decided not to continue the match.
Subsequently, information began to spread in the public space that Khalífová is a transwoman. She was born as a woman and grew up as a woman. IOC President Thomas Bach later reiterated at the Games venue that both Khalif and Taiwanese representative Lin Jü-ching are women and have the right to compete in the women’s competition in Paris.
“A man who beats a woman in boxing is a confirmation of that. I ask: where is the Istanbul Treaty, where are its defenders?” continued Duka. In his statement, he also thanked some athletes – specifically, the Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, who, in addition to sports, is also known for refusing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus and because of this he was banned from starting in several tournaments.
“First of all, I would like to thank the famous Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, but also the attitude of other political, cultural and spiritual representatives, who knew that the Olympics had been misused by certain groups, which, however, do not guarantee us either good education in schools or organization. Bacchanalians can see their manifestations in the so-called Pride parades. It was no coincidence that at the same time such a procession was held in Prague, in the capital of the country that is called the heart of Europe,” said the archbishop.
He also criticized the opening ceremony in the post. “The connection of the allusion to the Last Supper is quite evident. The allusion to ancient times with the Dionysian bacchanalia is, in my opinion, an absolute mockery of antiquity, that is, not only of Christianity, because we know that athletes cannot organize bacchanalia and then go compete.”
At the same time, the organizers rejected claims that it was an imitation of the image of the Last Supper. “Of course, it was never our intention to show disrespect to any religious group. The opening ceremony tried to celebrate tolerance in society,” said organizing committee spokeswoman Anne Descamps at a press conference. “We are convinced that we managed to fulfill it. If it offended anyone, we are deeply sorry,” she added.
Miroslav Kalousek, the co-founder of the TOP 09 political party, also responded to Duka’s statement on the X network. “Being a Catholic is sometimes quite a suffering. Almost as if they were members of TOP 09,” he wrote. “It is his opinion. We will not comment further on this,” said Veronika Linková, spokeswoman for the Czech Olympic Committee.
Source: sportweb.pravda.sk
