WUNRN
UK - Church of England Backs
Women Bishops, in Principle
By Anne
Laure Mondesert - November 20, 2013
The Church of England has
been under intense pressure from the public and politicians to introduce female
bishops since previous legislation narrowly failed to pass in the General Synod
almost a year ago.
Members of the Synod
gathered in
The proposals would create
an ombudsman to rule on disputes involving traditionalist worshippers who
refuse to accept the authority of a woman.
Clergy who fail to
cooperate with the ombudsman's inquiries could be disciplined.
A leading supporter of
women bishops, the Bishop of Rochester, James Langstaff, welcomed the result of
the vote, but warned against "complacency".
"Though we are hugely
encouraged... it is not a cause of complacency, there is a lot of work that
still needs to be done," he told a press conference.
"People would have
voted in favour of this because it is about continuing the process, who may or
may not vote in favour of the package at the end of the day -- and that's a
reality."
There remain several
hurdles to clear.
The proposals will be put
before the General Synod again in February and must then be submitted to each
diocese before returning to the Synod again in July or November 2014. The
legislation must also be approved by parliament.
The Church's second-highest
cleric, the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, warned supporters that they had
not yet won the fight.
"We should not open
the champagne bottles, or whatever drink we regard as celebratory, because we
need to agree to work together until the end," he said.
The worldwide Anglican
Communion's mother church was plunged into deep soul-searching last November
after moves to introduce women bishops were rejected by just six votes.
The collapse of the
legislation was described by a senior civil servant as a "train
crash" for the Church, and Prime Minister David Cameron said it
"needed to get on with it".
The Church of England came
under increased pressure when the Church in
Cameron said on Wednesday
the move was essential to bring the Church into the modern world.
"I strongly support
women bishops and I hope the Church of England takes this key step to ensure
its place as a modern Church in touch with our society," he told parliament.
There are 27 women bishops
in the Anglican Church worldwide.
In September, the Reverend
Pat Storey was appointed a bishop in the