A group of Catholics not liking gays is not exactly news, but a Catholic political group in Italy is taking things one step further by actively campaigning against a new movie that has a pro-gay message.

Militia Christi has called for a boycott of Mariano Lamberti’s film, Good As You, saying that it’s a “vulgar representation of homosexuality, with which the author wants to equalise the union between two men to that between a man and a woman [sic].” The film was released in 60 Italian cinemas yesterday, with Militia Christi sending letters to the owners of the cinemas screening the film, and also to its star, Lorenzo Balducci.

These have not been the only protests against the film, including at a preview screening in Palermo, Sicily, earlier this week. Italy has only rarely produced LGBT films of the type that might attract mainstream attention – and that’s despite the country producing gay filmmakers such as Luchino Visconti and Pier Paulo Pasolini, with the influence of the Catholic Church making acceptance of gay rights and people more difficult than in most Western European countries.. The movie itself is a comedy, and features four stories of gay and lesbian couples struggling with everyday life.