Jesus would have supported gay marriage, Sir Elton John has claimed.
In an interview with Sky News’ Murnaghan programme, the musician also said that rules preventing gay clergy from marrying and those which require Catholic priests to be celibate were 'old and stupid things'.
He said: 'The church hierarchy, the traditionalists, might be up in arms about it but times have changed.
'If Jesus Christ was alive today, I cannot see him, as the Christian person that he was and the great person that he was, saying this could not happen.
He was all about love and compassion and forgiveness and trying to bring people together and that is what the church should be about.'
During the interview, Sir Elton said that the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was 'doing a good job' and described Pope Francis as 'wonderful'.
He said: 'He’s excited me so much by his humanity.
'He’s taken everything down to the humility of faith.
'He’s stripped it down to the bare bones and said it’s all basically about love and inclusiveness. That has to be encouraged by the Church of England as well.'
Sir Elton also spoke of his plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin when he visits the country in November.
He said he offered to introduce him to members of the gay community earlier this year to show the impact of 'deeply divisive' legislation.
Sir Elton said: 'It’s no good putting up a wall and saying I’m not talking to these people; the only way things get solved is by talking to people.'
He said that he and his partner were not able to get married until next year because they were already in a civil partnership.
He said the marriage would be 'very quiet and very off the cuff' as the couple had a big celebration for their civil union.
The singer will marry his civil partner David Furnish next year in a 'very quiet' ceremony
In an interview with Sky News’ Murnaghan programme, the musician also said that rules preventing gay clergy from marrying and those which require Catholic priests to be celibate were 'old and stupid things'.
He said: 'The church hierarchy, the traditionalists, might be up in arms about it but times have changed.
'If Jesus Christ was alive today, I cannot see him, as the Christian person that he was and the great person that he was, saying this could not happen.
He was all about love and compassion and forgiveness and trying to bring people together and that is what the church should be about.'
During the interview, Sir Elton said that the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was 'doing a good job' and described Pope Francis as 'wonderful'.
He said: 'He’s excited me so much by his humanity.
'He’s taken everything down to the humility of faith.
'He’s stripped it down to the bare bones and said it’s all basically about love and inclusiveness. That has to be encouraged by the Church of England as well.'
Sir Elton also spoke of his plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin when he visits the country in November.
He said he offered to introduce him to members of the gay community earlier this year to show the impact of 'deeply divisive' legislation.
Sir Elton said: 'It’s no good putting up a wall and saying I’m not talking to these people; the only way things get solved is by talking to people.'
He said that he and his partner were not able to get married until next year because they were already in a civil partnership.
He said the marriage would be 'very quiet and very off the cuff' as the couple had a big celebration for their civil union.
The singer will marry his civil partner David Furnish next year in a 'very quiet' ceremony
