Below is the Official Letter to the Faithful from Most Reverend Alfred A. Schlert, Bishop of Allentown, regarding the recent events at the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics in Paris.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Last week I was privileged, along with others from our Diocese, to participate in the Tenth National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. It was a truly grace-filled time, rich in many blessings which will be revealed in the life of our own Diocese. Fifty-four thousand Catholics lined the streets on Saturday for a Eucharistic Procession to give public witness to the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
The next day, last Sunday, the Eucharistic Congress concluded with a splendid Holy Mass, full of the vigor of the entire Church. Our Lord was truly present in those days, and we were grateful as a Nation to offer Him praise, honor, and adoration.
But the enemy was not pleased, and he chose the time of his evil response.
The sacrilegious response to our public worship of the Most Blessed Sacrament came quickly, at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2024 Paris Olympics. With one billion people watching, a horrendous depiction of the Last Supper, complete with a monstrous drag queen "Jesus" and transvestite "apostles," was offered by the French Olympic organizers as their disdain and ridicule of the Christian faith.
In other centuries, Catholic France was admiringly known as the "Eldest Daughter of the Church." It is truly evil that such a mockery of the Last Supper, at which Our Lord gave us His entire self: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, should have occurred in France, where the blood of Catholic martyrs has stained its soil. While this scandal occurred in France, given the increasing secularization and marginalization of the Church in our own Country, it could also happen here.
Therefore, we recommit ourselves to our public witness and reverence of the Holy Eucharist. We pledge our efforts to continue the work of the National Eucharistic Congress by becoming Eucharistic Missionaries to our brothers and sisters. We also set ourselves on a path of reparation and penance for all of the offenses heaped upon Our Lord present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
The enemy wastes no time in trying to shock and discourage us, but our weapon is the Holy Eucharist, the power of which will never be defeated.
"May the Heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored, and loved, with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even until the end of time. Amen."
Devotedly yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Alfred A. Schlert, Bishop of Allentown
See a pdf version of Bishop's statement here.
