BARCELONA, Spain, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI, in Spain for the second time, was greeted by 200 gay couples who kissed to protest the Catholic Church's rejection of same-sex marriage.
Following the pope's consecration of the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona Sunday, the gay couples went outside and kissed in protest of church policies, Radio France Internationale reported. More than 6,000 people attended the consecration.
About 20,000 people celebrated same-sex marriages in the past five years in Spain, where it is easier to get an abortion and end a marriage.
The pope also spoke out against abortion.
"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," Benedict said.
Benedict surprised some Spaniards Saturday when he began his trip to Spain from Santiago de Compostela, a popular route for Catholic pilgrims, the report said.
