THE Bishop of Worcester says the church should “reflect deeply” on the fact that many youngsters believe its attitude to homosexuality is wicked.

The Rt Rev Dr John Inge threw his weight behind comments made last week by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who said a lot of people under 30 think the Church’s view on gay men and lesbians is “incomprehensible”.

The city’s bishop told your Worcester News that the Most Rev Justin Welby was “undoubtedly right” about the stance taken by young people.

“The Church needs to reflect deeply on the implications of this,” said Bishop John. “For the first time in many generations, our traditional teaching is being seen by large numbers of people as being on the wrong side of the moral argument. It’s important that we recognise this and do some soul searching, recognising that God doesn’t only speak through the Church of England.”

The Most Rev Justin Welby was speaking to an audience of born-again Christians when he said they must “repent” over the way gay and lesbian people have been treated in the past, causing controversy among some factions of the church.

The Archbishop said most young people viewed Christians as no better than racists on the issue.

He was backed by the Rt Rev David Walker, the Bishop of Dudley, who said society recognises that those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender have been treated badly in the past.

“If they want the right to marry, for instance, then they should be able to,” he said. “I think the Archbishop is spot on.”