THE six Central Members of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) — those elected by General Synod — are “unanimous in their disquiet” over how proposals on changes to Standing Orders, to be debated on Thursday, were developed.
A background paper confirms that the proposals, which include ending the secret ballot and giving an extra vote to the chair in the case of deadlock, came from the House of Bishops in the wake of the CNC’s failure to appoint in Carlisle and Ely.
Moving a take-note debate on the CNC report on Tuesday, squeezed into the agenda on a day dominated by safeguarding, the Archbishop of York said: “We have to accept that from time to time a nomination isn’t made.
“But at the same time, I recognise from the many conversations and communications I have had that, when this happens, especially when it happens twice, confidence in the CNC process is affected, which has caused shock and dismay inside and outside the Church.”
CNC members make a declaration of trust to each other, undertaking not to reveal to any outside person information about its proceedings. A current member, the Revd Lis Goddard (London) expressed Central Members’ anger at lack of consultation over the recommendations, which, she told the Synod, represented “a massive shift in how we operate, shifting the power dramatically to those who already hold the majority of power.
“These changes will undermine diocesan members,” she said. “That will become clear as we debate the Standing Order changes, making it much easier for them to be pressured into particular decisions, and compromise the integrity of what is a carefully balanced voting system. We need to pay attention to power, and particularly in the CNC system at this time.”
Speaking in his own capacity and not as chair of the Business Committee, Robert Hammond wished to see the development of a code of practice for CNC members, akin to the Synod’s own code. “We know that alleged specific allegations of a Crown Nominations Commission have been leaked by a member of the Commission to the press,” he said.
“We do not know who leaked the details of that CNC but I would hope that, if they are members of the Synod, they will be open with us, that they will not serve on any future CNCs, and if [they are] members of other councils or bodies or commissions, they would resign, having clearly contravened a declaration of trust.”
The Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, was forthright in her view of how CNCs were operating, referring to “the way in which we create the opportunities so that only ‘people like us’ — whoever that ‘us’ is — get onto certain committees, and then those committees make the decision in relation to ‘people like us’.”
She continued: “However we want to interpret that, I am troubled by it, because I do not see the Holy Spirit at work in it and through it. There must be a better way for us to operate, and a better way for the Holy Spirit to have its way, in terms of the choice of leadership within our Church, than the way we ourselves orchestrate one another depending on the camps we belong to.”
The Synod voted by a show of hands to take note of the report.