Pope Benedict Consecrates Barcelona Basilica Condemning Spain’s Continuing Progression Towards Equality; 200 Gay Rights Activists Stage Kiss-In Protesting Pope’s Continual Anti-Gay Rhetoric

Pope Benedict XVI ended a two-day visit to Spain Sunday, in Barcelona, using a consecration of the Sagrada Familia basilica to condemn Spain’s gay marriage and abortion laws, according to Deutsche Welle news, telling an estimated 6,500 faithful that “The generous and indissoluble love of a man and a woman is the effective context and foundation of human life. For this reason the Church resists every form of denial of human life and gives its support to everything that would promote the natural order in the sphere of the institution of the family.” He added that the dedication of the church as a basilica “is an event of great importance, at a time in which man claims to be able to build his life without God.” As previously posted, a gay “kiss-in” staged by an estimated 200 gay rights activists, protested the pope’s appearance, Sergi Diaz, one of the protestors, saying “We are here to demonstrate against the pope’s visit and call for change in the mentality of the Catholic institution which still opposed our right to different ways of loving.”