Topless protester grabs baby Jesus at Vatican nativity scene: report

A topless woman from an activist group was stopped by police as she tried to grab the baby Jesus on display in the nativity scene at the Vatican, Reuters is reporting.

The incident happened Monday in St. Peter’s Square, about two hours before Pope Francis delivered his Christmas message to a crowd of about 50,000.

The woman was from the feminist group Femen. A photographer from the Reuters news service said she jumped over rails around the Nativity and shouted “God is woman,” which also was painted on her back, according to the report.

Femen’s website identified the woman as “sextremist Alisa Vinogradova” and said she had “kidnapped” the doll, though according to Reuters she was detained by police before she was able to leave the Nativity scene.