The Lukewarm Vatican Response to the Paris Olympic Outrage, by Phil Lawler

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture, Aug. 05, 2024

Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org.

What’s wrong with the Vatican statement on the Olympic blasphemy? Nearly everything.

Start with the timing. More than a week passed between the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics and the release of the tepid Vatican response. During that week thousands of people had expressed their shock and anger over a deliberate insult to the Blessed Sacrament— the source and summit of the Catholic faith. So the world naturally turned to Rome for an authoritative response, and for several days heard— nothing at all.

Then when the Vatican did release a short statement, it was vouchsafed to the world on a Saturday afternoon. That is the time usually chosen by publicists who feel obliged to put something on the record, but do not want to capture public attention— the time to “bury” a news story. …