Man sexually abused by evil bishop speaks out against Church of England’s gay sex hypocrisy
Cliff James was abused as a child at a church camp in Cambridgeshire (Facebook)
A victim of a paedophile bishop has denounced the Church of England as it releases a “totally hypocritical” new ruling on gay sex.
The latest pastoral guidelines from the House of Bishops to clergy is that sex belongs only within heterosexual marriage, and that Christians who are in LGBT+ or straight civil partnerships should conduct “sexually abstinent friendships”. It adds that sex outside marriage falls “short of God’s purposes for human beings”.
But a man who was abused as a child by the bishop of Lewes has highlighted the hypocrisy of such a ruling. Speaking to the Argus, Cliff James described the new guidelines as a “medieval” and “a backwards step”.
“Over the years the Church has struggled with accepting human nature in various spheres and this just demonstrates how far removed the Church is from how people live and love,” he said.
“And it’s totally hypocritical. I’ve had several partners who were male priests. I can’t fathom why they’ve done it. I turned my back on the Church and I try not to keep up with these machinations and political manoeuvrings.
“But they must be attempting to appeal to a pretty small group. There are a dwindling number of people who believe this kind of thing. It’s a Bronze Age mentality and it’s so backward looking.
“These comments have got nothing to do with love and they just show how irrelevant the Church of England is to modern society – and why it should be disestablished. It’s medieval.”
The Church of England has been branded ‘hypocritical’ for its latest guidance on gay sex (Chris Ratcliffe/Getty)
The guidance sparked furious criticism from LGBT+ campaigners as well as senior figures within the church.
Senior leaders from the Church of England, including the Archdeacon of the Isle of Wight, have issued an open letter warning that the outdated position could see the church become “a laughing stock“.
“The Church of England has this week become a laughing stock to a nation that believes it is obsessed with sex,” they wrote.
“More importantly this statement has significantly damaged the mission of the Church and it has broken the trust of those it seeks to serve… it seems our trust has been misplaced and we feel badly let down.”
