‘There is a huge amount of work that has already been done in this area – by charitable institutions, by credit unions and a number of Government initiatives. But I think there is room for more to be done, particularly in primary schools.’

The Church of England has no power to rewrite the curriculum and Sants said that it would ‘take time to work out’ how to develop the agenda in collaboration with school authorities.

The Rt Rev Alan Wilson, the Bishop of Buckingham, said priests should be “creative” to get around restrictions on blessings for same-sex couples and that gay clergy who wish to marry should do so in defiance of the official line.

But as reported by the Daily Beast, an anonymous clergyman has revealed that homosexuality may be more prevalent in the church than some may think.

They write: ‘A clergyman, who did not wish to be named, claimed that at least 13 of the church’s 42 bishops were also gay, although they have not publicly acknowledged it.’

There are 42 bishops in the Church of England, who have a diocese and can vote in the House of Lords.

None of them are openly gay.

Positive male and female role models are very important in local communities but as an argument for the ordination of women, or indeed men, Mrs Spelman's apologia for women priests displays a lamentable level of biblical literacy. The primary calling of ordained ministers in the Church of England is to proclaim the Word of God, not to spend their time trying to compensate for societal breakdown.