World

4 women strip, protest Vatican gay marriage stance

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Four women have gone topless in St. Peter's Square to protest the Vatican's opposition to gay marriage.

Police quickly took the women away Sunday, and the pope appeared not to have been disturbed as he delivered his traditional prayer from his studio window overlooking the piazza. On their bare backs, the women had painted slogans "In Gay We Trust," and "Shut Up." One of them, Inna Shevchenko, said: "Today we are here to protest against homophobia."

The small demonstration coincided with a march in Paris that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people to protest the French president's plan to legalize gay marriage and let gay couples adopt children.

French Catholic bishops and other religious leaders have strongly opposed the proposal, and the Vatican has backed them.

Related Headlines

  • Pope stresses family values as gay marriage gains

    The pope pressed his opposition to gay marriage Friday, denouncing what he described as people eschewing their God-given gender identities to suit their sexual choices — and ... 

  • Vatican digs in after gay marriage advances

    The Vatican is digging in after gay marriage initiatives scored big wins this week in the U.S. and Europe, vowing to never stop insisting that marriage can only be between a ... 

  • Christmas comes to Vatican with tree lighting

    The Christmas season kicked off Friday at the Vatican with the traditional lighting of the tree in St. Peter's Square — and a reminder from the pope about what happened when ... 

  • Pro- and anti-gay protesters clash in Paris

    The controversial Ukrainian group Femen, whose topless members stage pranks to support gay rights, have taunted a march in Paris by Catholics who oppose France's draft law to ... 

Find your future job here

What

Where

Service