Oregon

Judge recognizes same-sex marriages

A judge told Multnomah County to stop issuing gay marriage licenses Tuesday, but he handed gay couples a historic victory by ordering Oregon to recognize the more than 3,000 licenses already granted in the county.

The decision by Multnomah County Circuit Judge Frank Bearden marked the first time in the nation that a judge has recognized gay marriage. An immediate appeal was expected.

The county began allowing gay marriage on March 3, making it the only place in the nation where gays could get married. The county has issued 3,022 marriage licenses to gay couples since then.

Bearden told the county to cease issuing same-sex licenses until the Oregon Legislature has a chance to fashion a new law, perhaps allowing Vermont-style civil unions.

Alabama

University apologizes for pre-Civil War slavery

The University of Alabama apologized Tuesday to the descendants of slaves who were owned by faculty members or who worked on campus in the years before the Civil War.

The apology, approved overwhelmingly by the Faculty Senate, was the first at the university and possibly the first of its kind in the nation, officials said.

It also was the second move by the school in recent days to acknowledge the university’s historical ties to slavery. On Thursday, university officials announced the school in Tuscaloosa would erect a marker near the graves of two slaves on the campus and place others on buildings where slaves once worked and lived.

Boston

Catholic college buys archdiocese’s property

Boston College, a Roman Catholic school, has agreed to buy the Boston archbishop’s mansion and 43 adjoining acres for $99.4 million, providing the church with badly needed cash to settle a sex scandal.

Proceeds from the sale, announced Tuesday, will be used to pay a $90 million settlement reached last year with more than 550 alleged victims of sexual abuse. Archbishop Sean O’Malley has said the archdiocese is $135 million in debt.

The property is across the street from the college’s main campus.