VATICAN CITY (TheBlaze/AP) — To err is human, to forgive is divine?
The Holy See has released a Ukrainian activist who bared her breasts in St. Peter's Square on Christmas Day and snatched the statue of Baby Jesus from the Vatican's outdoor Nativity scene.
In this Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014 file photo, a gendarme from the Vatican's security forces stops a Ukrainian feminist group Femen activist after she snatched the statue of Baby Jesus from the Nativity scene set in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. (AP Photo, File)
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the Holy See prosecutor, met with Yana Zhdanova on Saturday and decided to order her freed.
She was also ordered to never set foot again in Vatican City State, including St. Peter's Basilica, or on other Vatican property outside the tiny city-state's walls.
The Femen protester shouted "God is woman" when she uncovered her chest in the square on Thursday, about an hour after Pope Francis had greeted and blessed tens of thousands of faithful.
A Vatican guard then covered her chest with his cloak and took her into Vatican custody.
Femen protesters have in the past participated in a "topless jihad day" to protest Islamic treatment of women and hijacked an anti-abortion rally with an "Abortion is sacred" chant.
—
Follow Zach Noble (@thezachnoble) on Twitter