Israeli ruling extends adoption rights
Israel's Supreme Court ruled 7-2 on Jan. 10 that lesbian partners have the right to adopt each other's children.
Adoption previously had been an option only for married and common-law opposite-sex couples, local newspapers said.
The case involved a lesbian couple of 15 years who utilized a sperm bank to conceive three children.
Spanish church leader
calls homosexuality an
'epidemic'
The secretary of the Spanish Roman Catholic Church's Episcopal Conference called homosexuality an 'epidemic' Jan. 8.
' [ It is ] a true epidemic of homosexuality, a fount of psychological problems and painful frustrations,' said Fernando Sebastián, archbishop of Pamplona. ' [ Homosexuals ] , if they wish, with well-directed help, can change their situation.'
The Spanish church has been on the warpath for several months against the national government's plans to legalize full marriage for same-sex couples this year.
Senegal's gays fight
for AIDS money
The Senegal gay group MSM ( men who have sex with men ) is fighting an uphill battle to get money from the National Council to Fight AIDS, the U.N.'s Integrated Regional Information Networks reported Jan. 12.
Senegal is considered to be devoutly Muslim and homosexuality is illegal.
The group has asked for about $73,000 to educate gays and assist people with HIV.
'We want to be able to train people and go to the homes of people living with AIDS who are suffering and who often are not informed about treatment,' an MSM leader told the U.N. news service, asking not to be identified by name. 'The situation is extremely serious within the community.'
Senegal has received about $74 million in AIDS funding this year from the World Bank, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and other donors.
The MSM group has about 400 members. Senegal has a population of around 10 million.
Canadian Catholic diocese battles gay marriage
The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Edmonton, Alberta, is trying to thwart Canada's plans to legalize same-sex marriage, the Canada Western Catholic Reporter said Jan. 12.
The diocese's Family Life Office has sent instructions to every parish on how to lobby national leaders and members of Parliament to oppose nationwide approval of same-sex marriage, which already has been legalized by courts in eight provinces and territories. It remains unavailable in five, including Alberta.
Federal MPs are expected to vote to change the definition of marriage this spring to include same-sex couples.
'This is not an issue of equal rights,' the director of the Family Life Office, John MacDonald, told the newspaper. 'Marriage is uniquely dedicated to a man and a woman who have the incredible privilege and responsibility of bringing forth the next generation of Canadians.'