| THE DETERMINATION by a majority in the General Synod to press ahead with women bishops, unhindered by legal restrictions designed to protect traditionalists, has provoked a mixed reaction.
During a long debate on Monday, which was extended into the evening, Synod members, meeting in York, rejected a simple one-clause Measure. But they also rejected all attempts to introduce structural safeguards for those unable to accept the ministry of women bishops.
They did so despite many appeals from Catholic members to allow them some theological and territorial security. In the closing stages of the debate, the Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Stephen Venner, said that the unwillingness to listen to each other he had witnessed had left him ashamed.
The compromise, such as it was, was to ask for a statutory code of practice to be drawn up, for consideration at the next General Synod sessions in February 2009. Although not stated explicitly, such a code is expected to spell the end of the provisions made for traditionalists in 1993 (see here).
The final motion (report) was passed by substantial majorities in all three Houses: Bishops 28-12; Clergy 124-44; Laity 111-68. When the matter reaches final-approval stage, it will need a two-thirds majority in each House. On Monday night, the majority in the Laity was only 62 per cent.
There was a swift reaction from the Vatican Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity: “Such a decision signifies a breaking away from the apostolic tradition maintained by all of the Churches since the first millennium, and therefore is a further obstacle for the reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Church of England.
“This decision will have consequences on the future of dialogue, which had up until now borne fruit.”
On the other hand, an Early Day Motion welcoming the outcome of the Synod vote, tabled in the House of Commons by Chris Bryant MP, had attracted 37 signatures by Wednesday afternoon.
The decision was welcomed, too, by Christina Rees, who chairs Women and the Church (WATCH). She said that the century-old debate to ensure that there were women in all parts of the threefold ordained ministry was in its final mile.
The Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill, who said on Tuesday that Synod had made the “right choice”, added: “I am going to spend a lot of time trying to see what I can do so that opponents are able to continue with us, because they have a very important part to play in the Church and it would be terrible if they were to leave.”
But for Prebendary David Houlding, a prominent member of the Catholic Group on General Synod, the decision marked “the beginning of the end”. “This is a very sad day for the Church of England, the Church of England at its worst,” he said after the debate. There had been no listening, no accommodation, no meeting place, no following of the leadership being offered. “Archbishop Rowan’s pleas were flatly ignored.”
He said that Catholics within the Church now felt that they would be tolerated, but not welcomed.
There had been warnings before the vote that it could lead to a mass exodus to the Roman Catholic Church. On Wednesday, Mgr Andrew Faley, the RC ecumenical representative on the Synod, said that there had been no sudden rush of enquiries. “At the moment the trickle has not become a torrent.”
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