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Women could become 'second class' bishops
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
THE TELEGRAPH
2/24/2004)
Women could be barred from becoming Archbishops, and may not even be
allowed to run dioceses, under official plans to consecrate them as bishops.
An unpublished Church of England report will suggest the reform may be
acceptable to conservatives only if women are merely allowed to climb on
to the first rung of the ladder by becoming "junior" bishops.
The proposal will spark fury among campaigners for women clergy, who
will regard it as a fresh example of the "stained glass ceiling" they
face in the male-dominated Church.
Hard-line traditionalists will also be unimpressed with the compromise,
though many in the Church's powerful evangelical wing may find it
attractive. With a General Synod debate likely in the autumn, the row
threatens to engulf the Church 10 years after the ordination of women
provoked one of the greatest crises in its 450-year history. Though it
is not expected to be as bitter as that over women priests, it comes as
the worldwide Church tears itself apart over the issue of homosexuality.
The confidential draft report, drawn up by a working party chaired by
the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, will set out the
options if the Church decides to consecrate women. As the Telegraph
disclosed last month, one possibility is to split the Church, one half
with female clergy and one without.
At the other extreme, all posts could be opened to women without the
conservatives receiving any protection, risking another damaging exodus
of traditionalist clergy. But the draft report also proposes a number of
options designed to placate those who are not fundamentally opposed to
the reform but who nevertheless have serious qualms.
Under one, women could be given one of the 43 diocesan bishoprics but
not that of the Archbishop of Canterbury or York. This might be enough
to persuade moderate pro-women campaigners that they have got almost all
they want.
It might also satisfy conservative evangelicals worried about
"headship", the belief that the Bible, particularly St Paul, bars women
from roles in which they are in authority over men.
The issue is expected to be debated by the Synod next November or
February, after the report, which has taken three years to complete, has
been finally approved by the House of Bishops. If approved, legislation
will be drawn up to allow women bishops, and the first consecrations
could take place within five years.
END
