Christian Aid, planning its charity abseil from the tower for May 16, said Father Gough would be one of the first to go over the edge.
A picture of the priest appeared next to the story in The Cornishman two weeks ago – and it even included a quote from the man himself.
It said: "I'm nervous but I've agreed to take on the challenge – it's too good an opportunity to miss.
"I'm looking forward to the views across our beautiful bay but I'll be glad when my feet reach terra firma. This is our chance to come together as a community, and help communities in need overseas".
However, this week Christian Aid, which planned the event to raise money for children in Africa, contacted The Cornishman to say it had made a mistake.
In fact Father Gough, a veteran fundraiser for orphans in Africa, had happily agreed to support the event, but never said he would make the leap of faith – with safety rope – from the tower.
An embarrassed Christian Aid officer revealed that the words attributed to him had been made up by someone at the charity.
Father Gough said he only found out what he was supposed to have agreed to when parishioners read the story in The Cornishman and asked him about it.
"Someone said to me, 'You're doing this, are you?' and I was a bit shocked," he said.
Father Gough has spent time in Malawi raising money for orphans and is the Bishop of Truro's world development adviser and chairman of the World Church Committee.
"I'm very focused on raising money for needy countries and I'm encouraging Christian Aid – I'll be supporting them throughout the day – but I'm certainly not doing any abseil," he said. "I'd worry about the structure of the tower with my weight."
The priest said that he had got over his initial shock and was keen that the story was not "blown out of proportion".
"Christian Aid has my full support," he said.
A spokeswoman for Christian Aid apologised to both the The Cornishman and Father Gough.
"I'm so sorry there was a mix-up with the wrong press release being sent," she said.
"Unfortunately it included a quote which hadn't yet been signed off by Father Andrew Gough. Understandably, he would like an amend in the newspaper to reflect that he was misquoted."
