20,000 march in London against Papal intolerance
London, UK – 20 September 2010
“The Protest the Pope demonstration in London was the world’s biggest demonstration against any Pope for many, many years,” said human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who helped coordinate the ‘Nope Pope’ march and rally in London on Saturday 18 September.
See photos of the protest via the link below.
“The protest was organised by a broad-based coalition to coincide with Pope Benedict’s State Visit to Britain.
“Among the marchers were Catholics and other Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and people of no faith. The protest was not against the Catholic church or Catholic people. It was against the Pope and his often harsh, intolerant teachings; especially his opposition to contraception, women priests, gay equality, abortion, fertility treatment, embryonic stem cell research and the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV
“There were ten times more people than we expected; between 15,000 to 20,000 protesters, filling most of Piccadilly, from Hyde Park Corner to Piccadilly Circus. This was an awesome turnout for a protest organised by a small ad hoc campaign with no office, paid staff or proper funding.
“Thanks to everyone who joined the march. We made a difference. The protest was reported worldwide, which helped expose the Pope’s sexist, homophobic and reactionary dogmas to hundreds of millions of people.
“Our march had a good-natured, carnival atmosphere, with lots of witty placards and slogans. It was one of the best, most fun, demos in years.
“Congratulations and gratitude to everyone involved,” said Mr Tatchell.
See these fabulous photos of the Protest the Pope demonstration:
http://www.protest-the-pope.org.uk/media/
These photos are free to publish but please give this photo credit: Andrew West, British Humanist Association.
For background to the protest, see this pre-protest briefing:
https://www.petertatchell.net/religion/march-against-popes-intolerance.html
Solidarity! Peter Tatchell