Labour MP slams COE after church says sex is for straight couples only

A Labour MP who used to be a priest has denounced the Church of England’s comments on same-sex marriage.

The Church of England has stated that sex belongs only within heterosexual marriage, and that Christians in gay or straight civil partnerships should be sexually abstinent.

Pastoral guidance for bishops states: “For Christians, marriage – that is, the lifelong union between a man and a woman, contracted with the making of vows – remains the proper context for sexual activity.

“Sexual relationships outside heterosexual marriage are regarded as falling short of God’s purpose for human beings.”

But Labour MP Chris Bryant hit out the comments, saying: “Sex is for married heterosexual couples only, says Church of England.

”Yet again the Church shows it has little compassion or understanding of the mystery of love.”

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LGBT campaigner Jayne Ozanne, a member of the CofE’s General Synod ruling body, criticised the tone and content of the guidance.

She wrote on Twitter: “I’m sadly unsurprised by the content of this statement but I’m deeply saddened by its tone.

“It will appear far from ‘pastoral’ to those it discusses & shows little evidence of the ‘radical new Christian inclusion’ that we have been promised.”

In 2017, a YouGov Omnibus survey explored how long British people would wait before sleeping with someone new, reveals they are happy to have sex early on in a relationship.

The results found one in five - or 18 percent - of people would take the plunge after seeing someone for the first time and one in eight (12 percent) follow the classic “three date rule.”