Four women from the group Femen of the Ukraine, known as an LGBT and women’s rights group of activists went topless in St. Petersburg Square as Pope Benedict delivered a morning prayer.

Essays and speeches against same-sex marriage and gay adoption have been more and more common over the past year with developments in favor of equal marriage rights throughout the globe.

As the Pope spoke, the topless Femen women shouted:

“Homophobe Shut Up!”

They sported body paint on their backs and chests which stated:

“In gay we trust”

On the same day, an essay released by the Vatican, written by Adriano Pessina, director of bioethics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart openly speaks against both same-sex marriage and gay adoption:

“But no one believes that these situations should be created just because in some cases they don’t cause damage,” wrote

“The human is the masculine and the feminine … the monogamous family is the ideal place to learn the meaning of human relations and is the environment where the best form of growth is possible,”

The Femen group of women is responsible for topless protests dating back to 2010. Today, they were arrested and taken away by Vatican official.

Sources: USA Today, Reuters, Towerload

A protest against gay marriage is also expected to take place in France where the country gears up to vote on whether they want to legalize equal marriage rights for their gay and lesbian couples and families.