Sir Elton John is known for being friends with everyone that matters – including Jesus – if the singer’s most recent comments are anything to go by.

The six-time Grammy award-winner told how it is “old and stupid” that gay priests are refused equal rights and that the Catholic Church insists on its priests practicing celibacy.

John, who is a passionate AIDS activist with his famous annual ‘White Tie & Tiara Ball’, told Sky News, “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 that this could not happen. He was about love and compassion and forgiveness and trying to bring people together and that is what the church should be about”.

The 67 year-old, who is due to marry his long-term partner David Furnish in 2015, made the comments following Pride celebrations in London. He went on to praise the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Pope for their work in trying to “modernise” the churches, “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”.

A church spokesperson circumvented the issues raised by Sir Elton, saying, “We share Elton’s assessment that Jesus was a ‘great person’ but we think he was much more than that. People will continue to debate his teachings for many more years to come”.

In 2010, Sir Elton controversially told US magazine Parade, “I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems”.