Polish court acquits activists threatened with prison over posters of rainbow Virgin Mary

LGBT+ activists in Poland who were facing jail over a Virgin Mary poster that included a rainbow halo have been acquitted by a court.

The posters were created in 2019 to protest increasing anti-LGBT+ hostility from Poland’s influential Catholic Church, which holds close ties with the right-wing government.

After facing two years in jail for their peaceful activism, the women were finally acquitted on Tuesday (2 March) as the court found no evidence of a crime.

“The activists’ activities were provocative, but aimed at drawing attention to the homophobic and harmful decor in the church in Płock. They did it to show that such actions were unacceptable,” the judge said in his verdict, as reported by local news.

“It was not the intention of the activists to insult anyone’s religious feelings or to insult the image of the mother of God. Their actions were aimed at protecting people who were discriminated against.”

He emphasised that LGBT+ people have their place in the church and referred to letters from Catholics who said they weren’t offended by the image of the rainbow halo.

“There are no sexual acts in the painting, and only such acts are considered a sin in the teaching of the Church,” the judge noted.

Source: PinkNews