| The 2012 campaign: leading up to the Final Vote on women bishops in July
For information to help with the campaign click here.
By law, women cannot be bishops in the Church of England. Anglican Churches in other countries have had female bishops since 1988, and in 15 out of the 35 Anglican Provinces, including Scotland and Ireland, women as well as men can be bishops.
Where are we now: 2012: the final stages in General Synod and the House of Bishops
The legislation drafted by General Synod has now been debated in all 44 Dioceses. 42 voted in favour, with overall support of 85% amongst Bishops, 76% amongst clergy and 77% amongst lay people: a very strong endorsement. The General Synod will now send the legislation to the House of Bishops for their final scrutiny. This is the last point at which it can be amended. (NB if it is amended it will have to be sent back around the Dioceses for them to approve the amended version). If the House of Bishops supports it unamended it will come to General Synod for final approval in July 2012. At that point it requires 2/3 of each of the 3 houses of Synod (Bishops, Clergy and Laypeople) to support it to be approved. Parliament then has to approve it and the Queen give her assent. The first women could be appointed as bishops in 2014.
What’s the problem?
Most people in the Church of England want women to be bishops. There are two small groups who remain opposed: a small subset of Anglo-Catholics, and a small subset of conservative evangelicals. General Synod has agreed that parishes who do not want a woman as their bishop should be able to opt out, and have included this right in the draft legislation. But those opposed maintain that this is not enough for them. Some say that they require a male bishop who has not ordained women (or been ordained by a woman), and some say that they require a male bishop who is their bishop in his own right, and not because he has been delegated to that role by a female bishop. General Synod has rejected both these suggestions a number of times.
What is WATCH’s position?
WATCH has long campaigned for simple legislation along the lines ‘women and men can be bishops’. But we recognise the need for appropriate care for those who wish to remain in the Church of England and are yet hesitant about women being bishops. So we have chosen to support the draft legislation. But we will resist any attempts to amend it to include further provision for those opposed, as we believe this will undermine the Church in many ways – its Diocesan bishops (male and female), the unity of the Church within a Diocese, and especially its credibility in wider society.
According to the Bible, women and men are equally made in God’s image. Images and perceptions of women that demean that truth are still prevalent across the world and damage all women’s sense of identity and self-worth. We look forward to female and male bishops leading the Church of England. We believe that working together they will reveal fresh understanding of the deepest truths of God’s unconditional love for us all.
For more details, see Resources for Diocesan Debates
Diocesan Synod Debates 2011
Click here for debate dates and results
Download dates here (Word document)
By what authority?
Women already lead the Church of England in many ways. Read what they are doing in our new column... |
