Greek court annuls same-sex marriages

ATHENS, Greece — A Greek court annulled Greece’s only two same-sex marriages, officials said Tuesday, following a furious backlash against the ceremonies from the government and religious leaders.

The two couples — one male, one female — exploited a loophole in a 26-year-old law that did not specify gender in civil weddings, and were married in June last year by the mayor of the small Aegean Sea island of Tilos.

The ceremonies drew the wrath of the powerful Orthodox Church of Greece, with one conservative bishop denouncing them as weddings of “humanoid couples.”

Quebec spends $500,000 to help gay seniors

The Quebec government is spending half a million dollars on an education campaign meant to improve the lives of gay, lesbian and transgendered seniors.

It's a subject so taboo that the cabinet minister responsible for seniors and representatives of the gay and lesbian communities couldn't find a seniors residence willing to host a news conference.

Laurent McCutcheon of the gay helpline Gai Écoute says homosexuality isn't discussed in most institutions that serve the elderly, leading many Quebec seniors to hide their sexual orientation.

As they age and lose their autonomy, gay, lesbian or transgendered seniors face stigma, loneliness, social isolation, rejection and in extreme cases, harassment from the very institutions they depend on to meet their needs.