The Polish civil rights activist who put up images of the Virgin Mary with a rainbow halo said she did so to protest against what she calls the "exclusion of LGBT people from society" by the country's Catholic Church.

The images were placed around the city of Plock late last month by Elzbieta Podlesna, in reaction to an Easter display there featuring slogans about crimes or sins. Listed among the sins were "gender" and "LGBT".

"This is something that is unbelievable for me in the 21st Century in the centre of Europe," Ms Podlesna told the BBC. "Nobody should be excluded from society. Sexual orientation is not a sin or a crime and the Holy Mother would protect such people from the Church and from priests who think it is okay to condemn others," she added.

The image Ms Podlesna chose was the "Our Lady of Czestochowa" icon. It has been revered by Catholics across Europe for centuries, and was symbolically crowned the "Queen of Poland" in the 17th Century.

Apart from the image of the icon, she also stuck a list of names of Catholic bishops that have allegedly protected priests accused of sexually abusing children to the rubbish bins. The issue is dominating the headlines here following the premiere on YouTube on Saturday of the documentary, "Only Don't Tell Anyone", which includes harrowing testimonies and footage of some victims confronting their abusers.