{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-colleagues-call-out-olympic-committee-for-mocking-christian-faith/", "Young, Colleagues Call Out Olympic Committee for Mocking Christian Faith", "2024-07-30", "2024", "2024-07", "Republican", "Senate", "IN", "Todd Young", "Y000064", "www.young.senate.gov", "toddyoung", "https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.), along with a group of 30 Republican lawmakers, sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach following the vulgar depiction of the Last Supper that took place during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.\n\n\u201cWe write in response to the vulgar mockery of the Christian faith on display at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The Games should unite people of every country, race, and creed. There is no place for anti-Christian bigotry at an event designed to bring the world together. The Games should celebrate the athletes, not denigrate anyone\u2019s faith. We urge you to take immediate action by amending Rule 55 of the Olympic Charter to ensure that no faiths are the subject of mockery as part of the opening or closing ceremonies ever again,\u201d the members wrote.\n\n\u201cThe International Olympic Committee (IOC) should formally condemn the mockery that occurred in Paris of one of the most sacred moments of the Christian faith. Then, the IOC should make formal changes to ensure this kind of divisive display is not repeated to ensure that Coubertin\u2019s vision for the Games may continue to thrive. Every person, from every nation and every faith, should be encouraged to enjoy the Olympics without being belittled or mocked. Thank you for your attention to this matter,\u201d the members continued.\n\nThe full letter can be found here and below:\n\nDear President Bach:\n\nWe write in response to the vulgar mockery of the Christian faith on display at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The Games should unite people of every country, race, and creed. There is no place for anti-Christian bigotry at an event designed to bring the world together. The Games should celebrate the athletes, not denigrate anyone\u2019s faith. We urge you to take immediate action by amending Rule 55 of the Olympic Charter to ensure that no faiths are the subject of mockery as part of the opening or closing ceremonies ever again.\n\nThere are more than 2.5 billion Christians globally. Africa is the region with the highest population of Christians with more than 700 million believers, followed by Latin America, and then Europe. 157 countries in our world are majority Christian nations, which is why your remarks following the mocking of the Christian faith rang hollow. \u2018We do not only respect each other, we live in solidarity with each other.\u2019 You went on to say that, \u2018In a world torn apart by wars and conflicts, it is thanks to this solidarity that we can all come together tonight, uniting the athletes from the territories of all 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.\u2019 How can we say we are in solidarity while bigotry and derision are part of the opening ceremonies?\n\nThe father of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin, once said: \u2018May joy and good fellowship reign, and in this manner, may the Olympic Torch pursue its way through ages, increasing friendly understanding among nations, for the good of a humanity always more enthusiastic, more courageous and more pure.\u2019 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should formally condemn the mockery that occurred in Paris of one of the most sacred moments of the Christian faith. Then, the IOC should make formal changes to ensure this kind of divisive display is not repeated to ensure that Coubertin\u2019s vision for the Games may continue to thrive.\n\nEvery person, from every nation and every faith, should be encouraged to enjoy the Olympics without being belittled or mocked. Thank you for your attention to this matter.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:32:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-colleagues-call-out-olympic-committee-for-mocking-christian-faith/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6981419175863266, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}