Among the groups under surveillance is ACT UP, an outspoken
critic of the Vatican’s refusal to accept condoms as a means of preventing
HIV/AIDS, according to
Le Figaro.
Other groups which oppose Rome’s
position on gay marriage and civil unions are also said to be under
surveillance by France’s anti-terror squad, which also is keeping an eye on
suspected al-Qaeda sympathizers.
Pope Benedict is scheduled to visit
France from Sept. 12-15. He will be in Paris and Lourdes.
Some 6,000 police and other security
forces will guard the pope and prevent demonstrators from getting close to him.
French authorities are anxious to avoid
a repeat of the condom shower that greeted the Pope in Sydney, Australia, in
July.
The Vatican believes abstinence, not
condoms, are most effective in preventing HIV/AIDS. Last year it issued a
statement calling condoms risky and unsafe.
The pope also has been a harsh critic of
same-sex unions, most recently blasting the California Supreme Court for
striking down that state’s ban on gay marriage.
In April, gay Catholics and other LGBT
groups demonstrated against the papal marriage stand during Benedict’s visit to
the US.