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DUBLIN, Ireland, May 21 (UPI) -- Polls show Ireland's referendum on same-sex marriage will result in approval for the measure, with the Catholic Church its only opponent. The referendum will be held Friday. If the measure passes, Ireland will be the first country to approve a same-sex marriage amendment by referendum.
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Seventy percent of likely voters support same-sex marriage, an Ipsos/MRBI poll, published in the Irish Times last week, indicated. The expected results are an indication of the Ireland's increasingly secular society and the loss of influence of the Catholic Church in the country. Ireland has traditionally been among Europe's most devout Catholic societies, and the country decriminalized gay sex only 20 years ago, but support for change to the marriage law is broad. It includes Prime Minister Edna Kenny, celebrities including Irish rock star Bono and business executives in Ireland.
Bono has said, "Marriage is now an idea that transcends religion. It is owned by the people. They can decide. It is not a religious institution," the Irish Independent reported.
The only major opposition to the referendum is from the Catholic Church, whose authority has been damaged by scandals which include sex abuse by priests and revelations about abusive conditions in Catholic schools and homes. In Ireland it no longer has its former moral force.
The vote also comes in week in which a bakery in Northern Ireland, which refused to decorate a cake with a pro-gay slogan, lost a discrimination case in court.
"In the past when referendums were defeated there is a usually a coalition of disparate groups," said Eoin O'Malley of Dublin City University. "In this case there is no such coalition. It's just the Catholic right. I'm not sure there are enough of them to defeat this."
As the referendum approaches, there has been a modest shift in opinion, with the "no" vote making a gain. Dublin bookmakers, who offered 10-to-one odds of the referendum's success, have revised the odds to seven-to-one.
