Brazilian must register gay unions as marriages

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazilian notary publics must register same-sex civil unions as marriages if the couple requests it, the country's National Council of Justice said Tuesday.

The council that oversees the country's judiciary said in a statement that notary publics cannot refuse to marry gay couples or convert a same-sex civil union into a marriage if that's what the pair wants.

The council based its decision on a 2011 Supreme Court ruling that recognized same-sex civil unions. The court said at the time that gay couples are entitled to same legal rights as heterosexual pairs when it comes to alimony, retirement benefits of a partner who dies and inheritances, among other issues.

Those opposed to the council's ruling can file an appeal with the Supreme Court.

Fourteen of Brazil's 27 states so far have legalized same-same marriages.

Efforts in Congress to approve a bill legalizing gay marriage across the nation have been thwarted by conservative evangelical legislators.

Gay rights movements cheered the council's decision.

"It is a major step that will ensure equality among heterosexual and homosexual couples," Carlos Magno Fonseca, president of the Brazilian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Association told reporters.

Last year, 1,277 same sex couples registered such civil unions with notary publics.

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Brazilian priest investigated for alleged abuse

SAO PAULO (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest is being investigated for allegations of sexual abuse of three young girls in his parish in southeastern Brazil, police said Wednesday.

A police spokeswoman said Father Emilson Soares Correa is under investigation for committing the alleged abuse in Niteroi, a city across Guanabara Bay from Rio de Janeiro. She declined to be identified in accordance with department policy.

The Archdiocese of Niteroi said on its website it was conducting its own investigation and that Correa has been temporarily suspended from his priestly duties.

The spokeswoman said one of the girls, now a 19-year-old woman, claims the abuse started when she was 13.

She told police Correa gave her "expensive gifts and paid for repairs that had to be done in her home," the spokeswoman said.

She said that last year the woman and a 15-year-old friend videotaped a man they said was the priest having sexual intercourse with them. The woman's father gave her the camera to film an encounter and use the tape as evidence, she added.

Part of the video aired by the Globo TV network showed a man identified as the priest naked from the waist up, kissing and embracing the woman and her friend.

The priest's attorney, Roberto Vitagliano, told Globo TV that the woman's father tried to use the tape to "blackmail Correa but when he refused to pay money for it he took it to the police."

The spokeswoman said the father is being investigated for alleged extortion.

Correa is also being investigated for allegedly sexually fondling the woman's now 10-year-old sister three years ago.

"When questioned, he acknowledged he maintained consensual sexual relations with the woman and her 15-year-old friend, but denied he committed any kind of abuse with the 10-year-old girl," the spokeswoman said.

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