Bishop of Lancaster Patrick O'Donoghue has accused his colleagues of failing to tackle issues such as homosexuality, same-sex adoption and "increasingly aggressive secularism."

The Bishop, who leads the Diocese of Lancaster which covers Preston, has slammed Catholic groups saying they have failed to uphold the church's teachings on adoption and education.

In a damning document, Fit for Mission? Church, the outspoken Bishop said: "There must be no back-pedalling on these issues just because certain truths are unwelcome in the corridors of power.

"We have talked too much and done too little. We have witnessed over the past 40 years a growing crisis in the Catholic understanding or self-identity of the church. Have we forgotten what it is to be Catholic?"

The Bishop, who is due to retire next September, recently hit out at the teaching of religion in the 82 schools and colleges it has across the Diocese, and against government plans telling its own adoption service to accept same-sex adoption.

A copy of the 92-page document has been published on American website lifesitenews.com in which he says the decision to split up responsibility on issues such as healthcare and education and led to "a reluctance among the rest of the bishops to speak out on these issues".

He said: "Confident, courageous and prophetic bishops are vital for the well-being of the church during this time of increasingly aggressive secularism."

The North West Lesbian, Gay and Transgender Society hit back at the Bishop's opposition.

Spokesman Neil Hartley said: "You would think that having a loving home for a child would have been top of the Bishop's priorities."

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