WORCESTER’S bishop has given his approval to the apology issued by Archbishops following controversy over a statement which said sex was just for married heterosexuals.

‘Pastoral guidance’ issued after a meeting of the College of Bishops of the Church of England last week said that “sexual relationships outside heterosexual marriage are regarded as falling short of God’s purpose for human beings”, and that people in gay or straight civil partnerships should be abstinent.

Following a backlash, an apology was issued by the archbishops of Canterbury and York. Justin Welby and John Sentamu said they took responsibility for releasing the statement which “jeopardised trust”.

The Bishop of Worcester, John Inge, posting on Twitter, supported the decision to say sorry. He wrote: “I commend this statement wholeheartedly.”

Rev Inge said: “I want to emphasise that God’s love extends to everyone, whatever their sexuality and how they express it, and that everyone is welcome in church. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York spoke for all the bishops when they apologised for the tone of the first statement about marriage and civil partnerships. Nobody should have expected the traditional teaching of the Church on marriage to be changed at a stroke, but the tone was unfortunate, to put it mildly.

"Neither did the first statement acknowledge that the church is in the middle of a process - entitled ‘Living in Faith and Love’ - to seek to discern God’s will for the future. Whatever the outcome of that process, as I say, everyone is welcome in church: single, partnered, married, divorced.”

The archbishops’ statement did not retract the substance of the “pastoral guidance” issued by the bishops, but implied it should not have been issued while the C of E is in the midst of a review of its teaching on sexuality and marriage.

Nicola Longworth-Cook, founder of Out2gether, the LGBT+ charity in Worcester, said: “I’m glad to see there has been an apology. When I heard the Archbishops’ earlier statements it made me sad.

Such pronouncements are entirely out of step with modern life and they undermine all the good work that many people of faith are doing to make their religion inclusive and relevant to the wider community.”

The apology statement read: “We as Archbishops, alongside the bishops of the Church of England, apologise and take responsibility for releasing a statement last week which we acknowledge has jeopardised trust. We are very sorry and recognise the division and hurt this has caused.”