Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Pope Francis on Thursday to speak out with him against the "perverse propaganda" he said was spread at the Olympic Games opening ceremony.
A scene during Friday's showpiece event featured dancers and drag queens reminiscent of the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus is said to have shared with his apostles.
Organisers have said they intended to portray a pagan feast and meant no offence, but Erdogan, Catholic groups, US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman were among critics slamming the act as a disrespectful parody.
"President Erdogan said that under the guise of freedom of expression and tolerance, human dignity had been trampled underfoot and religious and moral values ridiculed, offending Muslims and the Christian world alike," the Turkish presidency said in a statement.
"He felt it was necessary to raise our voices together," the statement added in the appeal to the pope.
The president, who had announced on Tuesday his intention to call the Pope to denounce the "immorality" of the opening ceremony, deplored "the undermining of religious values, the perverse propaganda and the moral collapse into which the world is drifting with the Olympic Games", the statement added.
Erdogan, who frequently criticises Turkey's LGBTQ community, was initially expected to attend the ceremony but said a warning from his granddaughter persuaded him to pull out.
AFP