Monday 14 July 2014

The Church of England has voted in favour of women bishops

Bishops: 37 in favour, 2 against, with 1 abstention.

Clergy: 162 in favour, 25 against, with 4 abstentions

Laity: 152 in favour, against 45, with 5 abstentions.

The voting figures for the remaining enabling legislation (amending the canons etc) can be found here

Now it remains to be seen whether the guidelines so painfully negotiated (and ultimately imposed by the House of Bishops) will prove effective to preserve, even in the equivalent of an Indian reservation, the apostolic tradition of the sacred ministry which has now been (at best) sidelined as being irrelevant and superfluous to the needs of the contemporary Church of England.
Experience elsewhere does not lead us to be optimistic, and it is undeniable that 'traditionalists' are far more exposed and vulnerable under these new arrangements than they were previously. There are those who will not rest until the whole Church submits to the new religion ... 

More reaction and comment here when it becomes available:


The Council of Bishops of The Society has issued the following statement:

Final Approval of the Women Bishops Legislation

Many in the Church of England are celebrating today, following final approval of the legislation to permit women to be ordained as bishops.

While recognizing this, we deeply regret the further obstacle that this decision places in the path to the full, visible unity of the whole Church.

We do, however, welcome the provision that has been made in the House of Bishops’ Declaration. It recognizes that our theological convictions about ministry and ordination remain within the spectrum of Anglican teaching and tradition. It assures us that bishops will continue to be consecrated within the Church of England who can provide episcopal ministry that accords with those theological convictions. It makes provision for parishes to gain access to that episcopal ministry by passing resolutions.

This gives us confidence in our future as catholics who are called to live out our Christian vocation in the Church of England. For this we give thanks to God.
  
On behalf of the Council of Bishops                         

X TONY PONTEFRACT                                         
Rt Revd Tony Robinson                                            
Bishop of Pontefract
Chairman


7 comments:

  1. God help the church. One notes the ladies show no grace or reverence at their success.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Joseph Golightly14 July 2014 at 19:01

    Did the Bishop of Burnley recently assist in the ordination of a women?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Someone?
      He retires on Saturday & has not changed his mind on the issue of women bishops: see here -
      http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/blackburndarwenhyndburnribble/11338198.print/

      Delete
  3. For those of us in non-traditional parishes and with an unsympathetic AffCath priest the situation is bleak.
    On a Society pilgrimage to Walsingham last year, 90% of pilgrims welcomed the ministry of women priests. Accused of misogyny and discrimination, they simply abandoned traditional Catholic beliefs. The Society has taken far too long to get off the ground and has failed to provide a safe haven for lay people.

    ReplyDelete
  4. From here (comment #13):

    http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/sf/page/31426/comment-sf/#508548

    As a member of the catholic group on General Synod, can I just comment briefly? the two bishops who voted no were Chichester and Burnley (who retires on Saturday!). The abstention will have been London.

    No surprise, this - except that I thought that there might have been a handful of suffragan bishops in the synod who might have voted against it.

    ReplyDelete

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