The full report by researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice won’t be completed until the end of next year. But the authors said that their evidence to date found no data indicating that homosexuality was a predictor of abuse.

“What we are suggesting is that the idea of sexual identity be separated from the problem of sexual abuse,” said Margaret Smith of John Jay College, in a speech to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “At this point, we do not find a connection between homosexual identity and the increased likelihood of subsequent abuse from the data that we have right now.”

The question has been raised repeatedly within and outside the church because the overwhelming majority of known victims were boys. As part of the church’s response to the crisis, the Vatican ordered a review of all U.S. seminaries that, among other issues, looked for any “evidence of homosexuality” in the schools.

Yet, many experts on sex offenders reject any link between sexual orientation and committing abuse. Karen Terry, a John Jay researcher, said it was important to distinguish between sexual identity and behavior, and to look at who the offender had access to when seeking victims.

The bishops had commissioned the $2 million study as part of widespread reforms they enacted at the height of the abuse crisis. The scandal erupted in 2002 with the case of one predator priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, then spread to every U.S. diocese and beyond.

Nearly 14,000 molestation claims have been filed against Catholic clergy since 1950, according to tallies the bishops have released in recent years. Abuse-related costs have reached at least $2.3 billion in the same period.

At the meeting Tuesday, Bishop Edward Braxton, of the Diocese of Belleville, Ill., asked the researchers whether their study indicated that homosexuality should be considered when evaluating a candidate for the priesthood. In 2005, the Vatican issued a policy statement that men with “deep-seated” attraction to other men should be barred from the priesthood.

Smith said: “If that exclusion were based on the fact that that person would be more probable than any other candidate to abuse, we do not find that at this time.”

The latest findings affirmed previous reports that the rate of clergy abuse has declined steeply since the mid 1980s. Researchers found that the abuse rate peaked in the 1960s and 1970s. Most of the claims being made now involve allegations from decades ago.

In separate business Tuesday, the bishops:

- Adopted a pastoral letter affirming the church’s definition of marriage being between one man and one woman, and that sex is meant for procreation. They also issued an educational document on the church’s opposition to reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization.

- Updated their “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.” The new language states that medically assisted nutrition and hydration, while not mandatory in every case, should be provided to all patients who would benefit, including those in a persistent vegetative state. However, the aid should not be provided if it becomes “excessively burdensome” for a patient who is very close to death, the revision states.

- Gave final approval to an English translation of the Roman Missal that has been in development for years. After the Vatican gives its final authorization, the new translation will be adopted by parishes nationwide, possibly next year.

The discussion was organized by Arus Pelangi, a non-governmental group.

Scholars said that condemnation of homosexuality by Muslims is based on narrow-minded interpretations of Islamic teaching.

Siti Musdah Mulia of the Indonesia Conference of Religions and Peace said:

“There is no difference between lesbians and non lesbians. In the eyes of God, people are valued based on their piety…And talking about piety is God’s prerogative to judge. The essence of the religion is to humanize humans, respect and dignify them.”

Another speaker at the discussion, Nurofiah of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said that heterosexuality is a social construction that has ultimately led the majority to ban homosexuality.

Several conservative Muslims also spoke at the discussion, but they condemned homosexuals.

Deputy chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Amir Syarifuddin said:

“It’s a sin. We will not consider homosexuals an enemy, but we will make them aware that what they are doing is wrong.”

A representative of Hizbut Thahir Indonesia (HTI) asked the attending homosexual participants to repent and force themselves to return to the right path.

However, according to Jakarta, Siti Musdah Mulia, said homosexuality is from God and should be considered natural.

Under the leadership of Kennedy, the former pastor who died in 2007, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church was a forerunner to modern evangelical megachurches and a fiercely conservative voice on social issues like homosexuality and abortion in the mostly liberal, Democratic city of Fort Lauderdale.

Graham’s grandson, Tullian Tchividjian, took over earlier this year as its pastor.

But some Kennedy loyalists, including his daughter Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy, are upset with the direction Tchividjian is taking the church and have called for his ouster.

Tchividjian cuts a far different image from Kennedy. His hair is spiky, his beard sometimes scruffy, his skin tan. He has forgone wearing a choir robe at services, as Kennedy had.

And while he has shown no sign of theological differences with Kennedy, he has rejected politics as the most important way to change the country, while Kennedy was extremely active in politics as an influential Christian broadcaster.

Cassidy and five other members recently circulated a letter with a petition urging a meeting to consider the firing of Tchividjian, indicating he had misled them in their search for a new pastor.

Dissenters at the church have been vague in their criticism of Tchividjian’s leadership. Their letter called him “a disaster” who has shown “a complete lack of respect” and made “grievous missteps.”

They lament the merger with Tchividjian’s former church, the far smaller New City Presbyterian, saying “their staff has taken complete control.”

“We were told many things that all sounded good at the time, but in fact those soothing words have largely proven empty and it keeps getting worse,” the dissenters wrote. “They range from preferences bordering on the mundane to violations of ethical standards that have guarded the purity of the church for decades.”

Tchividjian dismissed the dissenters as “a super small but very vocal minority” in an e-mail message to The Associated Press, but referred calls to Bill Ashcraft, a longtime member and church elder. Ashcraft estimated fewer than 100 of the church’s roughly 2,000 members support the pastor’s dismissal.

“They would like for things to be exactly as they were under Pastor Kennedy,” Ashcraft said. “We didn’t bring Tullian Tchividjian to Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church to do exactly what D. James Kennedy was doing.”

After the Coral Ridge members circulated the first letter, Tchividjian called a meeting to address their concerns, but Ashcraft said none of the dissenters attended, instead sending a second letter. After that, they were told they were not welcome at the church until an internal judicial process was complete.

“They spelled out some vague complaints for the pastor but they didn’t ask for any modification of anything. They just asked to sign a petition to sever this pastor’s relationship with the church,” Ashcraft said. “It’s hard to negotiate with people like that.”

Jim Filosa, a Coral Ridge elder who along with his wife is among those disciplined by the church, said he couldn’t discuss the matter in detail. Cassidy and others who were disciplined didn’t return calls seeking comment, but Filosa said Kennedy’s daughter shouldn’t be described as the effort’s ringleader.

“She is just one voice in many,” he said.

Cassidy still remains on the board of Coral Ridge Ministries, the broadcast ministry founded by her father that is technically separate from the church, though it is closely affiliated. A spokesman for Coral Ridge Ministries, John Aman, released a statement saying despite Cassidy’s involvement in the leadership challenge, there was no further comment.

Ashcraft said the hope is that the dissenters eventually rejoin the fold. In an Aug. 6 letter to congregants, Tchividjian wrote “No church government can tolerate such an insurrection from those who will not listen to admonition, refuse all counsel and will stop at nothing until they have overthrown legitimate authority and replaced it with their own.”

Tchividjian, 37, is the middle of seven children born to Stephan Tchividjian and Graham’s eldest daughter, Gigi. He attended Coral Ridge and its adjacent school as a young man and Graham officiated at the church’s dedication ceremony. Tchividjian eventually dropped out, spending about five years partying on South Beach before recommitting to Christ, joining the seminary and becoming a minister.

Coral Ridge’s founding in 1959 marked the creation of what would become one of the country’s first megachurches. It had been without a pastor from Kennedy’s death in September 2007 until Tchividjian was appointed in March.

The legislation would have mandated a sentence of from two to five years. It needed 226 votes to proceed – only 90 deputies voted for it.

The move comes a week before an expected showdown between Moscow gays and city authorities over a gay pride march on May 16.

Last week, officials said that any attempt to hold a parade would be “firmly dealt with.”

“Such events will be firmly stopped by the authorities,” Moscow city spokesperson Leonid Krutakov said.

May 16th coincides with the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest, which is being hosted by the city and will be broadcast throughout Europe. Pride organizers have called for finalists to express support for pride during the telecast.

Laws against homosexuality were repealed at the end of the Communist era, but Moscow city officials have refused to allow gays to hold a pride march for years.

Moscow Pride has seven cases already pending before the European Court of Human Rights.

The latest was filed against President Dmitry Medvedev.

The lower house adopted the measure in November, prompting sharp criticism from international human rights groups and the UN Program on HIV/AIDS.

This week, the Senate stripped out the criminalization of homosexuality while maintaining other provisions to the sweeping reform of the country’s legal system.

The Senate left intact the abolition of the death penalty new laws on genocide. The bill also protects women and children from all forms of violence – especially sexual violence.

The revised legislation now returns to the lower house for final approval.

Burundi is struggling to emerge from a civil war that has resulted in more than 300,000 deaths since 1993. The provisions on genocide and the abolition of the death penalty are considered part of the healing process, but increasingly hardliners have blamed many of the country’s problems on gays.

The anti-gay provision in the original bill had the backing of President Pierre Nkurunziza. Earlier this week, prior to the Senate vote, Human Rights Watch wrote to  Nkurunziza and members of the Senate saying that outlawing homosexuality “violates basic human rights.”

The Senate exclusion of the provision on homosexuality was praised by Michel Sidibe, the Executive Director of the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS.

“By rejecting this amendment, Senators in Burundi have protected the human rights of their people,” Sidibe said, adding that the provision would have blocked access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.

“They have also set a standard for other lawmakers around the world to follow their example in stopping laws that block the AIDS response,” Sidibe said in a prepared statement.

The statement also noted that countries with non-discrimination laws against men who have sex with men, injecting drug users and sex workers have provided better access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.

Consenting gay sex is punishable by up to 14 year in prison with hard labor.

Under the anti-gay marriage bill, a same-sex couple married anywhere and returning to Nigeria, or anyone who is married to a same-sex partner who travels to Nigeria including foreign business people, would be jailed for up to three years.

The legislation also would imprison anyone who attends a gay wedding with up to five years behind bars.

In addition, police would have the right to raid public or private gatherings of any group of people suspected of being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

The measure would increase the risk of violence and other acts of discrimination against individuals who are suspected of being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, said Amnesty International.

“It is simply unacceptable to single out one group of people to be deprived of the rights we all enjoy,” said Aster Van Kregten, Amnesty International’s Nigeria researcher. “Legalizing discrimination is reprehensible in itself and can only promote acts of hatred.”

Van Kregten said that the bill before Parliament would violate rights guaranteed in the Nigerian constitution and by human rights treaties.

In 2006, a similar bill was introduced, but died when the government fell.

Amnesty International has expressed in the past concerns about human rights abuses against individuals on the basis of their actual or perceived sexuality.

In August 2007, police in Bauchi arrested 18 men suspected of same-sex relations, charging them with belonging to an unlawful society, committing indecent acts, and engaging in criminal conspiracy. In 2008, several men and women were also arrested and detained on charges of engaging in consensual same-sex relations.

The journalist, Adel Hussein, was pardoned Sunday by Massoud Barzani, the president of the self-ruled Kurdish region, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

Hussein was convicted of violating “public custom,” also known as public decency, by writing an article about sodomy in April 2007 in the independent weekly Hawlati. He was sentenced Nov. 24 to six months in prison and ordered to pay a $106 fine.

“We are relieved that President Barzani intervened to right this injustice,” CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney said in a written statement.

Hussein was serving his sentence at Mahata prison in Irbil, about 220 miles (350 kilometers) north of Baghdad. He was among 121 people pardoned by the president in advance of the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha, according to Barzani’s Web site. The holiday is one of Islam’s most important ones.

Hussein’s attorney, Luqman Malazadah, said the sentence handed down by the Kurdish court was based on an outdated 1969 Iraqi penal code.

A new law that took effect in October does not recognize a violation of “public custom,” CPJ said.

“We call on the authorities to ensure that the new legislation is enforced and that Adel Hussein is the last journalist to be sent to prison in Iraqi Kurdistan because of his work,” Mahoney said.

The legislation, which must first be approved by Burundi’s senate, is part of a sweeping reform of the country’s legal system that for the first time abolishes the death penalty and creates laws on genocide. 

The new law also protect women and children from all forms of violence – especially sexual violence.

Burundi is struggling to emerge from a civil war that has resulted in more than 300,000 deaths since 1993. The provisions on genocide and the abolition of the death penalty are considered part of the healing process, but increasingly, hardliners have blamed many of the country’s problems on gays.

A negotiated peace settlement, brokered with the assistance of a number of African states, has led to the installation of a multi-party government.

The bill has the backing of President Pierre Nkurunziza. While almost all lawmakers in the lower house approved the legislation a number opposed the criminalization of homosexuality.

MP Catherine Mabobori said the provision tarnished the high ideals of the other parts of the bill.

“Unfortunately, this penal law is also a regression because it now makes homosexuality a criminal offense, whereas it had been tolerated until now,” said Mabobori who abstained during the vote.

Under the legislation, anyone convicted of homosexuality would be sentenced to a two-year term in prison.

“Imprisoning people simply because of who they love offends every principle of human rights practice, which is to ensure dignity and respect for all people,” said Paula Ettelbrick, the executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission .

“This is less about sexuality and more about the visibility of a growing community of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Africa refusing to be treated as dirt. These laws are meant to silence and terrorize our community and must be stopped,” Ettelbrick said in a statement.

Two-thirds of African nations maintain criminal penalties for consensual same-sex behavior. In recent years, several countries, including Nigeria and Uganda, have threatened to strengthen laws against homosexuality.

A new criminal code in Zimbabwe broadens the definition of sodomy to include “any act that involves physical contact… that would be regarded by a reasonable person to be an indecent act.”

The United Nations has condemned laws that criminalize homosexuality as being violations of the rights to privacy and equality and has called upon member states that maintain such laws to review them. Members of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights have condemned physical attacks on and the imprisonment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

While the parade had the marking of most Western pride celebrations, marchers also carried a strong message to the government – repeal the laws against sodomy.

Homosexuality is illegal in India, punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment. People living with HIV/AIDS are frequently shunned by their families.

The sodomy law was enacted during British rule over India. Ater independence in 1947, the law remained on the books and police regularly enforce it.

LGBT rights groups have been campaigning for repeal of the law for nearly a decade.  A legal challenge to the law is expected to be heard later this year by the Supreme Court.

Among the marchers were several high profile Indian film and television celebrities and a handful of lawmakers.

Prior to the parade, there were concerns police would deny a permit for the march.  The form was signed and delivered to organizers just hours before it was scheduled to begin.

“Closets are for clothes,” marchers chanted. Many of them were wearing masks.

Organizers of the parade also called on Britain to officially apologize for introducing the sodomy law in the first place.

“We call on the British government to apologize for the immense suffering that has resulted from their imposition of Section 377. And we call on the Indian government to abandon this abhorrent alien legacy of the Raj that should have left our shores when the British did,” said a statement released to the media by parade organizers.