Petrelis Files

Videos: Bare-Breasted Gay Anti-Pope Protest at the Vatican

My friend Bill Wilson is back from his extended stay in Rome, and he today shared with me the video from the La Repubblica newspaper and TV outlet of the pro-gay protest at the Vatican this morning during the Pope's homily.

Four women from the Ukrainian feminist activist group FEMEN bared their breasts, chests and backs with the messages of "In Gay We Trust" and "Shut Up" painted on their flesh.



This video is only 48 seconds long and provides the gist of what transpired during the demonstration in St. Peter's Square, but La Repubblica wasn't the only news source present to capture the action.




The Il Fatto Quotidiano news outlet made this almost three-minute video report that shows the young women protesters sure put up a fight when dealing with the Italian police. They appeared an uncooperative as possible, eventually being dragged then carried out of the square.

What were the reasons for the protest? Reuters provides the answers:

The Vatican underlined its opposition to gay adoption on Sunday as same-sex marriage supporters staged a topless protest in front of the pope in St. Peter's Square.

The Vatican paper L'Osservatore Romano published a response to an Italian court's rejection of an appeal by a father who feared his son would not have a balanced upbringing if he lived with his mother and her female partner.
The Court of Cassation ruled it was "mere prejudice" to assume that living with a homosexual couple could be detrimental for a child's development.

While gay rights group Arcigay called it a "historic ruling" for Italy, where it is illegal for gay couples to adopt, Catholic leaders were quick to defend the traditional family unit.

Brava, to the courageous women of FEMEN for this provocative act that rightfully generated a good deal of mainstream media attention.