(Policeman hauls away a protester from the women’s rights protest group Femen as Pope Benedict XVI leads his Angelus prayer from the nearby window of his private apartment in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican January 13, 2013. REUTERS/Giampiero Sposito)
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 the 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.
The Vatican has become increasingly vocal against homosexual marriage in recent months. Pope Benedict strongly reaffirmed the Church’s opposition to it in December, saying heterosexual marriage had an indispensable role in society.
