Topless FEMEN protester hauled off by Vatican police while breastfeeding (VIDEO)

Visitors to the Vatican received an unexpected show on Mother’s Day, when a topless activist from the ‘sextremist’ group FEMEN was hauled off by authorities while breastfeeding her child in the middle of St. Peter’s Square.

The stunt involved a woman with the words “alma mater” written across her bare chest, which is Latin for ‘mother feeding.’ The public display was aimed at getting Pope Francis to acknowledge the right of all mothers to breastfeed anywhere, at any time, FEMEN wrote on its website. It added that the act was in intentionally staged on May 13 as a Mother’s Day dedication.

The website also states that journalists covering the event were arrested, with police “illegally confiscating photos and video materials” taken by most of them.

It’s not the first time the sextremist group has staged a protest at the Vatican. In December, a topless activist from the group tried to steal Baby Jesus from a nativity scene on Christmas Day. One day prior, the group staged another protest at the Vatican, with the demonstrators bearing the words #MeToo and “Assaulted by church” across their bodies.

FEMEN was founded in Ukraine in 2008 and has become known for its topless stunts against government, religious, and other public institutions. The group left Ukraine in 2013, claiming it feared for the “lives and freedoms” of its members. Since then, it has branched out to a number of other countries, with its main headquarters located in Paris.

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