Spanish Gays Plan 'Kiss-In' Protest for Pope
Spanish gays and lesbians say they will hold a protest "kiss-in" Thursday in front of Pope Benedict XVI when he joins huge Catholic youth festivities in Madrid.
The kiss-in is being organized on Facebook by gay groups including Asamblea Transmaricabollo de Sol, which was set up during popular "indignant" protests that erupted May 15 over Spain's economies woes.
The kiss-in is aimed at protesting the Roman Catholic Church's "moral condemnations of sexuality," a spokesman for the Transmaricabollo group, Jaime del Val, told AFP on Wednesday.
On Facebook, organizers are calling for a gay-lesbian kiss-in "dedicated to an educational, lewd, and (r)evolutionary celebration of the arrival of the Holy Father Benedict XVI."
Nearly 300 people had signed up for the protest, the exact site for which had not yet been chosen.
An estimated one million young Roman Catholics or more are celebrating World Youth Day in and around Madrid from August 16-21 in a rock-festival style atmosphere.
Benedict XVI arrives Thursday to join the final four days of the celebrations. He will be welcomed by the youngsters in a major ceremony at Madrid's central Plaza Cibeles.
When the pope last visited Spain in November last year, he was confronted by a homosexual kiss-in in Barcelona.
About 200 gay men and women couples locked lips to demand the Church recognize their right to be gay as he paraded through Barcelona's streets November 7 in his transparent "popemobile".
Source: Agence France Presse
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