Today, the Church of England came several steps closer to achieving women’s equality within the church. The national assembly voted, after only two hours of debate, to move legislation in support women bishops to the revision committee stage.
People on both sides of the debate have met the advancement with varying levels of apprehension. Voices on the side of women’s ordination in the Church of England believed that the legislation did not go far enough. Graham James, the Bishop of Norwich and a support of women bishops stated:
I believe that women should and will be ordained to the episcopate but what I see before me in the proposed legislation is an episcopacy so damaged and fractured as to be scarcely worthy of the name…I cannot see any amendments that would render it satisfactory.
Other women’s ordination supporters are hopeful that the revision process will create a more equal piece of legislation. Dr Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, chaplain to Durham University, stated: “Please understand the sacrifices you are asking women campaigners to make in accepting this legislation based on a code of practice and please do be prepared to meet us half way as this draft legislation suggests.”
On the other side of the aisle, traditionalists in the Church of England are less than pleased with the legislation. Rod Thomas, Bishop of Plymouth and leading traditionalist stated: “This leaves us very clearly with a feeling that our ministry in the church is simply being tolerated rather than being given the space where our ministry is encouraged to flourish.”
But perhaps what is most striking is that some traditionalist clergy have stated that if they are forced to work under women bishops, then they will seek refuge in the Catholic church.
Indeed, statements like these may be very exciting to the hierarchy of the Catholic church, who get a bit nervous anytime the Church of England grants more rights to women than they are ready (or, more accurately, willing) to give. However, it is a sad reflection of the sexist tendencies of the Catholic church that these clergy opposed to women’s rights would turn to the Catholic church for support.
And it is an even sadder reflection of how the church hierarchy is able to manipulate the media and society into thinking that the entire Catholic church is opposed to women’s equality in the church while in fact, over 60% of Catholics are in support of women’s ordination.
Alas, these conservative Anglican clergy will not need to go running to Rome anytime soon. The legislation is unlikely to take effect until 2014.
