Italy gay pride march protests against government and Church

08/06/2008

ROME (Reuters) - Some 10,000 dancing and singing homosexuals and gay-rights supporters marched through Rome on Saturday, many of them chanting slogans against the Vatican and Italy’s conservative new government.

The yearly Gay Pride march took on added political significance because city officials denied a request for the march to end with a rally near the Basilica of St John’s in Lateran, the pope’s cathedral in his capacity as bishop of Rome.

City officials said the march would disturb a concert that had been planned for inside the basilica. The new conservative city administration also refused to give its patronage to the march. the rest