MEXICO CITY

Miniskirts are making some Mexicans ruddy with indignation.

The outrage is directed at the Roman Catholic Church for warning women that the skimpy clothing can provoke sexual violence.

Rev. Sergio Roman sounded the alarm against miniskirts in an online publication to prepare Catholics for a church family-values forum next year in Mexico City.

"When we show our body without prudence, without modesty, we are prostituting ourselves,'' wrote Roman, a Mexico City priest. Mexican newspaper columnists lampooned the article, and women's rights advocates have assailed it.

Women dressed in miniskirts and low-cut shirts have rallied at the doors of Mexico City's Cathedral during Sunday mass, carrying signs that read: "Clothed and naked, I am the same.''

Guadalupe Loaeza, a renowned Mexican social commentator, said she worries the priest's statements will be taken seriously and make it acceptable to blame the victim.

"It gives rapists permission to say, 'Well, she had on a miniskirt,"' Loaeza said. "What the church says has credibility -- that's why this type of statement is so dangerous.''

The archdiocese says the news media have twisted Roman's words and that the article was meant only to provide "moral guidance for the Catholic community.''

Skimpy outfits are a common sight on national TV broadcasts in Mexico, but are still frowned upon in most social settings.

Roman's statements echo recent comments by government authorities elsewhere in Latin America and the Caribbean.