In a strongly worded and surprise statement, Pope John Paul yesterday described Saturday's Gay Pride march in Rome as "an affront" and "an offence" to the Catholic Church and to Catholics.
Speaking less than 24 hours after 100,000 gay rights activists had staged a march past the Colosseum in central Rome, the Pope said at his Sunday Angelus in St Peter's Square: "In the name of the Church of Rome, I cannot but express a sense of bitterness for the affront to the Great Jubilee of the year 2000 and for the offence to the Christian values of a city that is so dear to Catholics all over the world."
Saying that the church could not remain silent, the Pope went on to quote the Catholic catechism, teaching that homosexual acts are a sin, "contrary to the laws of nature", and that the homosexual "inclination" is "objectively disordered".
Pope John Paul's attack on the Gay Pride festival was but the latest of a series of polemics involving both senior Catholic Church figures and right-wing politicians opposed to the march. Despite those polemics, and despite threats from several right-wing groups to hold counter-marches, Saturday's colourful demonstration passed off without protests.
As the parade filed past the Colosseum, tourists and Romans gathered to watch an event in which gay rights delegations from Amsterdam, Berlin, New York and from all over Italy participated.
The Pope's strong condemnation of the march may have been influenced by the fact that several marchers chose to openly defy the Catholic Church, carrying slogans such as "God is gay", "God loves me, too", "God made me in his own image, so does that mean God is gay?" - all to the accompaniment of jazz, reggae, pop and rock rhythms.
Politicians from both the left and right and other public figures expressed solidarity by taking part in the march. They included the Equal Opportunities Minister, Ms Katia Belillio, the Democratic Left leader, Mr Walter Veltroni, the Forza Italia MP Mr Vittorio Sgarbi and the Radical Party leaders, Ms Emma Bonino and Mr Marco Pannella. They were joined by personalities from the world of cinema who included the actress Isabella Rossellini and director Nanni Moretti.
The centre-left Prime Minister, Mr Giuliano Amato, who in May had described the march as "inopportune", came in for much criticism from marchers, not only proving to be the butt of many banners but also being criticised by the television commentator Gad Lerner, who suggested that the only truly "inopportune" aspect of the march had been the Prime Minister's fundamentally undemocratic attitude towards it.
The Mayor of Rome, Mr Francesco Rutelli, who had withdrawn the city's sponsorship of the Gay Pride festival and who did not attend the march, nonetheless issued a statement expressing his satisfaction that the march had passed off peacefully.
"Once again, Rome has shown itself to be a truly open city, respectful of every political, cultural and civic viewpoint," he declared.