Whatever happened to respect?

The Vatican said it was also “saddened by certain scenes at the opening ceremony”.

The organisers, however, said it was an interpretation of Dionysus (Greek God) and to raise awareness of the absurdity of violence. The ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, claimed da Vinci’s 15th century painting was not his inspiration for the scene.

Whether people accept that explanation or not, what is certain is that we live in a secular world with the media often deriding Christianity; Catholic schools and Religious institutions are often singled out for criticism.  

The situation has worsened in recent times with the much-publicised abuse of young people by paedophile priests fuelling the anti-religious sentiment.

True to say the Church, by covering up so much of the abuse, has not helped its cause. It has only led to more scepticism of the relevance of religion in the twenty-first century. The pews on Sundays were once full at almost every Mass. Not these days! The young especially have thumbed their noses at mainstream religion believing it to be irrelevant and outdated.

All that aside, blasphemous attitudes against Christianity and all religions are deeply troubling and unacceptable. People of all faiths have the right to practise their religion without being belittled. Unfortunately, we live in a super-charged social media age where people get trolled online and mocked for anything they do.

It is a sad indictment of the world in which we live. Whatever happened to RESPECT? It is a word that regrettably carries less meaning these days.  

Feature image: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) – The Last Supper.

Image: Dionysus riding panther: Greek mosaic from Pella C4th BC.

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