SIGNIS Africa , the Continental Branch of SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication, has as members, Catholic clergy, religious, laymen and women who are engaged in the work of media and communication. As professionals who apply their talents in the use of communication to promote cultural harmony, we are conscious of the fact that images can be deployed mischievously to promote cultural and religious disdain. It is in this regard that we totally align with the statement issued by His Excellency, Bishop Emmanuel A. Badejo, Bishop of Oyo, Nigeria and President of the Pan African Episcopal Commission for Social Communications, (CEPACS) with regard to the insulting depiction of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper.

His Statement reads:

The religious depictions of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” painting with contemporary ideological figures that are clearly offensive to Christianity at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games 2024 in France is to say the least shocking and disrespectful. Sadly, it is a perpetration of deliberate ongoing attempts in Europe and America to repurpose and cheapen Christian themes without regard for peace loving Christians who practice and profess their religion in peace. That this decadent caricature of one of the most cherished events of Christianity is publicized in France, a country with a rich and old Christian heritage, and at the Olympic games, detracts from the status of the Olympics and belies all claims to enduring civility and respect for freedom of religion in the West.

Christians should exercise their right of outrage and boycott to the extent that the damage already caused can be mitigated and redressed and future occurrences prevented. Governing bodies and organizations should take full responsibility for accommodating such insulting, tasteless art and expressions that can potentially cause further hurt and division in our already hurting and fractured world. Huge thanks to all who correctly expressed outrage on the subject well ahead of this. Regardless of what we go through as Africans, we must never disrespect or thrash religious symbols and sentiments which touch people at their deepest levels of their being. To do this is to throw our humanizing and spiritual values and ideals to the dogs

+Bishop Badejo

The Board of SIGNIS Africa urges all our members to publicize the statement of Bishop Badejo across the continent as a way of registering our displeasure with the organizers of the Paris Olympics for the outrageous and insulting depiction of the Last Supper.

Rev. Fr. Walter C. Ihejirika, Ph.D.
President

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of SIGNIS Africa.

President
Rev Fr Prof. Waller C. Ihegirika
Professor of Development Communication and Media Studies
University of Port Harcourt
East-West Road
Choba
Port Harcourt
Rivers State
NIGERIA
+234-803-490-3041
walter:ihejirika@uniport.edu.ng
wiherjirika@yahoo.com

Secretary/Treasurer
Rev. Fr. Dieudonne Kofi Davor 
Department of Social Communications
National Catholic Secretariat
P.O. Box KA 9712
Accra
Ghana
+233-244-731-084 
dieudonne.kofi@gmail.com

Fr. Alberto Buque (Mozambique) Vice President

Brother Alfonce Kuwga (Zimbabwe, IMBISA Region) – Member

Fr. Bethrand Webb Amouzuo (Cote d’Ivoire, RECOWA Region) – Member  

Rev.Sr. Adelaide Ndilu
IHM (Kenya, AMECEA Region) – Member 

Rev. Fr. Fidele Mutabazi (Rwanda, ACEAC Region) – Member

The joint bid of Morocco, Portugal and Spain to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup™ has reached a significant milestone, with the complete bid book being officially submitted to FIFA leadership at an event held in FIFA’s Paris offices.

The official bid book was handed over to FIFA President Gianni Infantino by the Presidents of the three bidding Football Federations: Fouzi Lekjaa, President of the of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Fernando Gomes, President of the Portuguese Football Federation, and Álvaro de Miguel, General Secretary of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, on behalf of President Pedro Rocha.

With the ambition of building a tournament ‘for football, for the world, for tomorrow’, the bid is driven by the slogan YallaVamos, symbolizing a proactive effort to advance the game globally.  

Extensive engagement efforts have already been made throughout the campaign to promote this vision, with the bid having tens of thousands of followers in social media.

A successful bid would mark the first time the men’s FIFA World Cup™ is held across two continents in its 100-year history. To celebrate this, the bid emphasizes building bridges between cultures, offering a welcome environment to fans and visitors from all background, and leaving a true legacy in sustainability, innovation, investment and social impact.

The bid book, which comprehensively details the bid vision and technical planning, including transport, accommodation and security arrangements, also outlines the proposed host cities and stadiums for a 2030 FIFA World Cup™ in the three countries.

The bid is supported by an impressive group of bid ambassadors, including footballing legends from each nation – Luis Figo, Andres Iniesta and Nourredine Naybet – and legend Emmanuel Adebayor, as well as leading players from the current men’s and women’s national teams: Cristiano Ronaldo, Achraf Hakimi, Dolores Silva, Ghizlane Chebbak, Alvaro Morata, Irene Paredes and Yassine Bounou.

The final decision for the host of the 2030 FIFA World Cup™ is due to be made by a vote of the FIFA Congress on the 11th of December 2024.

Upon receiving the official bid book for the joint bid of Morocco, Portugal and Spain, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “Your three countries have already given a lot to football, countries with great passion for the game, great organisational skills and a shared vision of what football and its values should be! It’s fantastic that you united two continents in the dream to organize the FIFA World Cup! Football Unites the World and you are proving it with this bid.”

During the event in Paris, leaders of all three bidding Federations elaborated on the vision of their tripartite bid:

Fouzi Lekjaa, the President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, stated: “We are proud and honoured to deliver such a historic bid for our three countries, in accordance with the vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. We are truly convinced that our bid will constitute a heritage for today’s generations and a legacy for those of tomorrow. We want the 2030 FIFA World Cup™ to unite people from all over the world and make all Africans proud.”

Fernando Gomes, President of the Portuguese Football Federation, commented: “The bid book delivered here today anticipates an agenda for the future. This is a bid which includes environmental aspects as a structuring pillar of the event, a bid which combines the needs of the competition with the expectations of FIFA World Cup™ host cities, and a bid which promotes inclusion and diversity for all. This is the basis on which our entire proposal is based!”

On behalf of the President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Pedro Rocha, the General Secretary of the Spanish Federation, Álvaro de Miguel, added: “42 years ago, our country organised its only FIFA World Cup™ to date – Spain 1982. Today, more than 40% of our population were not born when that happened. The FIFA World Cup 2030™ will unite those generations that lived through it and those that did not. And it will also unite three countries and two continents, leaving an intergenerational, international and intercontinental legacy.”

Additional information on the bid is available at www.YallaVamos2030.com, or the bid’s social channels on Facebook (https://apo-opa.co/4fnTTR2), Instagram (https://apo-opa.co/4dnRaFy), LinkedIn (https://apo-opa.co/4flNkhR), X (https://apo-opa.co/4fqkUmP) and YouTube (https://apo-opa.co/4fms4IR).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of YallaVamos 2030.

For further information, please contact media@yallavamos2030.com

The religious depictions of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” painting with contemporary ideological figures that are clearly offensive to Christianity at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games 2024 in France is to say the least shocking and disrespectful.

Sadly, it is a perpetration of deliberate ongoing attempts in Europe and America to repurpose and cheapen Christian themes without regard for peace loving Christians who practice and profess their religion in peace.

That this decadent caricature of one of the most cherished events of Christianity is publicized in France, a country with a rich and old Christian heritage, and at the Olympic games detracts from the status of the Olympics and belies all claims to enduring civility and respect for freedom of religion in the West.

Christians should exercise their right of outrage and boycott to the extent that the damage already caused can be mitigated and redressed and future occurrences prevented.

Governing bodies and organizations should take full responsibility for accommodating such insulting, tasteless art and expressions that can potentially cause further hurt and division in our already hurting and fractured world. Huge thanks to all who correctly expressed outrage on the subject well ahead of this.

Regardless of what we go through as African we must never disrespect or thrash religious symbols and sentiments which touch people at their deepest levels of their being. To do this is to throw our humanizing and spiritual values and ideals to the dogs.

+Bishop Badejo

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Catholic Diocese of Oyo, Nigeria.