Clashing with Argentina's president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who supported the law, he endorsed protests involving tens of thousands of people against the bill, incurring the ire of some gay rights leaders here.
He anticipated, and tacitly endorsed, peaceful protest, "the only thing that has ever worked" to advance social justice in America.
The European Film Academy, headed by Germany's Wim Wenders, endorsed the protest in a statement that said failure to respect Europe's cultural exception "would threaten independent cinema and the author's freedom of expression".
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's best organized political force, which had endorsed the protest on Friday, issued a statement on Saturday under the heading, "The Army and the People Are One Hand," a popular chant among protesters when they were calling on the military to take their side during the revolution.
Days before the march, all three leading LA mayoral 2013 candidates, Democrats Councilman Eric Garcetti, Councilwoman Jan Perry and City Controller Wendy Greuel, endorsed the protest event and announced that they would not accept any campaign contributions from Walmart.
But he criticized NATO and officially endorsed the protests, saying that the "broad masses" should carry out their demonstrations "in good order and in accordance with the law".
Francis has endorsed the protests in general terms, and, according to European news reports, will do so again more emphatically and specifically this week.
According to a survey in the popular daily newspaper Le Parisien, 64percentt of those polled either endorsed the protests or sympathized with the unions' goals.
It has endorsed the protests and encouraged its supporters to attend.
The Muslim Brotherhood, lately favored with a visit by Senate Foreign Relations Chair John Kerry and a positive article by Nicholas Kristof, officially have not endorsed the protests, although individual members, and particularly Brotherhood youth are joining.
