IRELAND'S Catholic bishops have publicly repeated their absolute opposition to same-sex marriages.The Bishop's Conference in a statement Monday reaffirmed its stance on gay people's fight to have their relationships recognized. The bishops said marriage should be more than a relationship between two people and could not be compromised by personal or legal trends.The bishops said, "Christian tradition holds that sexual differentiation is intrinsic to our understanding of the sacrament of marriage. Marriage has a meaning that is not reducible to individuals' intentions and society's laws."Marriage is not perceived as just any kind of relationship, but as a quite specific kind of relationship, with certain core characteristics."The unequivocal statement coincided with the Dublin Pride Festival organized by the gay community. Irish gays are lobbying for equal rights in all areas with heterosexuals.But a spokesman for the bishops denied the timing was anything to do with the festival.Sources close to the bishops said the intervention was prompted by comments by a nun who is a professor of theology that the sacrament of marriage should apply to same-sex couples.Margaret Farley, professor of moral theology at Yale Divinity School and a member of the Sisters of Mercy, told a Dublin conference last month that same-sex marriage should be allowed as a matter of justice.Farley said a committed couple had the right to a marital relationship.Government plans to introduce legislation which would allow for civil unions between same-sex couples are unlikely to be published before the summer recess of the Dail (Parliament).Government officials said progress has been delayed due to the Lisbon Treaty campaign and the Cabinet reshuffle following Brian Cowen's appointment as taoiseach.