AFP: Sydney bishops to boycott Anglican meet over gays (Feb 3)

SYDNEY: Bishops in Australia's largest city Sydney are pulling out of the Anglican Church's top global meeting this year in a dispute over gay bishops and same-sex marriages, a spokesman said Sunday.

The boycott is being spearheaded by Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen, who is a leading conservative voice in the acrimonious row over the ordination of openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson in the United States.

Announcing the move after an ordination service here, he said another five bishops would also not attend the Lambeth Conference, which runs from July 20 to August 3 in Canterbury, England.

"With regret, the archbishop and bishops of the Diocese of Sydney have decided not to attend the Lambeth Conference in July," he said in a statement.

"They remain fully committed to the Anglican Communion, to which they continue to belong, but sense that attending the conference at this time will not help heal its divisions."

The US Episcopal church in 2003 consecrated Robinson as a bishop, outraging conservative colleagues in the Anglican church around the world.

Conservative Anglicans, mainly from Asia and Africa, have been threatening for some time to boycott the conference over Robinson's appointment.

The Lambeth Conference is held every 10 years and is the highest meeting of the world Anglican communion, bringing together more than 800 bishops from all over the world.

Robinson himself has not been invited, but the US bishops who consecrated him have been asked to come.

A spokesman for Jensen confirmed to AFP on Sunday that the bishop would not attend.

"For quite a while, that is certainly what a lot of people in the Anglican world expected," the spokesman said.

A number of African bishops led by Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria are also expected to boycott the meeting. - AFP/ac

Reuters: Gay couples as committed as straight couples: study (Jan 22)

Jan 22, 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Gay and lesbian couples are just as committed in their relationships as heterosexuals and the legal status of their union doesn't impact their happiness, according to new research.

In two new studies that compared same-sex and heterosexual couples using different factors and methods to assess their happiness, scientists found few differences.

"Among the committed couples, there were very few differences that we were able to identify either in terms of how satisfied these couples were, how effectively they interacted with one another or how their bodies responded physiologically while they were interacting with one another," Glenn I. Roisman, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, said in an interview.

He and his colleagues compared 30 gay male and 30 lesbian couples with 50 engaged heterosexual couples, 40 older, married heterosexual couples and dating heterosexual couples.

They found that regardless of sexual orientation, as the level of commitment increased, so did the ability to resolve conflict -- debunking the myth that
same-sex relationships are not built on the same level of commitment as heterosexual ones.

In the second study researchers, who focused on how legal status affected relationship quality, followed 65 male and 138 female same-sex couples in civil
unions, 23 male and 61 female same-sex couples not in civil unions and 55 heterosexual married couples over a three-year period.

The researchers from the University of Washington, San Diego State University and the University of Vermont found that same-sex couples, regardless of their legal
status, were more satisfied with their relationships and reported more positive feelings toward their partners and less conflict than heterosexual married
couples.

But gay and lesbian couples not in civil unions were more likely than same-sex couples in civil unions or heterosexuals who were married to end their relationships, according to the study.

Both studies were published in the journal Developmental Psychology.

"My personal view is that I think it's very hard to make the case as has been made that these same-sex relationships are fundamentally different from opposite-sex relationships in the presence of data like these and other data in the developmental
literature," said Roisman.

Reporting by Stefanie Kranjec; Editing by Patricia Reaney

The Advocate: Gay Unions Healthier than Straight (Jan 17)

SUMMARY: Same-sex couples are more flexible about gender roles,
parenting and household responsibilities, a University of San Diego
study finds.

A recent University of San Diego study revealed some discoveries
that demonstrate how same-sex relationships may be healthier than
straight ones, according to an article by United Press
International.

The study found that couples in same-sex relationships were more
flexible in terms of gender roles, parenting and household
responsibilities.

It also found that lesbian couples are emotionally closer than gay
male couples, who, in turn, are emotionally closer than heterosexual
married couples.

"It all comes down to greater equality in the relationship, " Robert-
Jay Green of Alliant International University's Rockway Institute
said to UPI. "Research shows that lesbian and gay couples have a
head start in escaping the traditional gender role divisions that
make for power imbalances and dissatisfaction in many heterosexual
relationships. "

According to the article, the researches concluded, "heterosexual
couples could learn from gay couples about sharing housework and
child care, using softer communication in conflict, and having more
nurturing behaviors toward one another and their children." (The
Advocate)