GAY ACTIVISTS PROTEST AT THE VATICAN

Today, activists gather outside St. Peter's Square at the Vatican during a candle-lit demonstration for gay rights.

The Vatican has come out against a United Nations resolution that calls on all governments to decriminalize homosexuality. France will propose the resolution this month on behalf of the 27-member European Union.

The Vatican fears a chain reaction in legally instituting marriage equality, especially in Italy, where there is no law banning same-sex marriage. "The French resolution... has nothing to do with gay marriage. It is about stopping jail and the death penalty for homosexuals," Franco Grillini, president of Italy's leading gay rights activist organization Arcigay, told Reuters.



Homosexuality is still punishable in at least 85 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, and Ghana. Some countries kill those who are found guilty of such an offense.