One euro fine for mock gay wedding in Notre Dame

PARIS, Apr 26 (Reuters) A French gay group has been ordered to pay one euro in damages to Notre Dame cathedral in Paris for staging a mock ''gay wedding'' to protest against what it called the Catholic Church's homophobia.

The Paris court that issued the ruling said the group, Act Up Paris, had violated the freedom of religion by staging the fake ceremony without permission from the cathedral.

''The provocative act of June 2005 and the unrest it caused shocked many people of different faiths, whether believers or not, both in France and beyond,'' the Paris archdiocese said in a statement after the ruling yesterday.

Act Up Paris said it was considering appealing against the decision.

In the mock wedding, a man dressed as a priest and a lesbian couple -- both dressed in white wedding dresses -- walked up the cathedral's main aisle and mimicked a wedding ritual while about 20 activists distributed flyers denouncing the Church.

Tourists looked on in amazement as the two women exchanged rings and kissed. Some activists chanted ''Benedict XVI is a homophobe and an accomplice to AIDS''.

REUTERS JS KN1940