BOGOTA, (Reuters):

Same-sex couples in Colombia will have rights similar to their straight counterparts following a court ruling seen as the biggest advance ever for homosexuals in this conservative Roman Catholic country.

In a decision embraced by rights groups but blasted by the church, the Constitutional Court late Wednesday granted gay couples living together for more than two years the same estate inheritance guarantees as heterosexuals in common law marriages.

"This is not only an advance for equality between heterosexuals and gay men and lesbians but an achievement for the public interest, especially for those committed to a more fair and open society," Marcela Sanchez, head of rights group Colombia Diversa, said in a statement.

The church had a different view.

"This goes against the family and marriage," said Aurelio Cadavid, spokesman for Colombia's Board of Pontifical Laymen. "It opens the door for them (gays and lesbians) to adopt children. The judges have become corrupters of children and young people."

A bill granting social security guarantees to gay couples is pending in Congress. Backers of that measure, including President Alvaro Uribe, say they do not support gay marriage or adoption.

The Argentine capital of Buenos Aires legalised same-sex unions in 2002, a move hailed as a first in Latin America.