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Church removes power from women bishops
Congregations get option to insist on male clergy
Evangelicals claim move will avoid Anglican split
The unity of the Church of England is under threat once more after a key committee agreed to automatically remove certain powers from female bishops and give them to their male colleagues.
According to the amended law, this move would allow the male bishop to perform certain functions, such as communion and confirmation, in order to accommodate parishioners and clergy hostile to female bishops.
It follows heavy lobbying from those opposed to the concept of women bishops who have demanded special care in the event of their ordination, an event unlikely to occur before 2014.
A statement from the Church of England said the committee had "received nearly 300 submissions, including more than 100 from members of General Synod" – a quarter of its governing body – and that "many of these offered alternatives" to a code of practice.
The development is likely to further drive a wedge between liberals and conservatives, who are already at war over the issue, with the amended legislation clearly favouring one side.
Ruth McCurry, who chairs a group supporting the ordination of women bishops, accused the church of institutionalising schism. She said: "You will have a group of people who don't recognise each other as bishops. What kind of church do they think they're in when they are not in communion with each other? You are legislating this schism into existence and you are creating a two-tier church, a category of second-class bishops. People could refuse to receive communion from Rowan [Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury] if he were to ever ordain a woman as a bishop.
"Unfortunately I have come to terms with the fact that you cannot have women bishops without discrimination, lots of men will be discriminated against too, and this poor committee is trying to find an elusive formula that will keep everyone happy. They can't."
The amended legislation is also a U-turn on a proposal published last year that would have endorsed the authority of a diocesan bishop who would have retained the right to delegate certain functions to another bishop. Under such a proposal, diocesan bishops could have ultimately refused to delegate their authority and a parish would have needed a judicial review to overturn the decision. It was one of several steps designed to heal a rift that peaked last July during an angry and emotional meeting of Synod.
Paul Dawson, from the evangelical group Reform, welcomed the committee's vote and rejected the suggestion it would divide the Church of England.
"On the contrary, it would avoid a wholesale split and would preserve unity. This could be what we need. We hope that the transferred functions will include communion, confirmation, ordination and approval for ordination.
"What's being suggested is no more of a split than what we have already. It will be interesting to see what the detail is."
The legislation will be bounced back and forth, line by line, between the committee and Synod. At the end of the revision process a two-thirds majority would be required in each of the three houses of Synod before the legislation goes to parliament and, eventually, for royal assent.
(Courtesy: The Guardian; October 9, 2009)
(URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/09/church-removes-power-from-women )
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