Church of England bishops plot response to vote to exclude women

Lay wells

church in crisis with the vote of the General Synod rejects the opening clerics woman bishop

bishops of the Church of England are holding an emergency meeting of the General Synod to decide how to react to the absence of a law that would have allowed women to join their ranks .

The church was plunged into its worst crisis in decades, after a vote which would open the episcopate to women clergy lost by only six votes in the House of Laity. The House of Bishops voted overwhelmingly in favor of the law.

Rowan Williams, Archbishop of departure for which the spectacular defeat was a bitter disappointment and a blow to his legacy Canterbury is to make a statement before the Synod after the meeting, a spokesman for the Church of England said.

Speaking to the Today program on BBC Radio 4, the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, said that the decision not to allow women to become bishops was "very disappointing".

But he added:

"There will be women bishops in my life ... The principle has been accepted."

In dramatic scenes Tuesday at Church House in Westminster, a long-awaited bill that was the result of 12 years of tortuous debate and more than three decades of struggle was defeated by lay members, who leads to a bishop warned that the established church was in danger of becoming a "national disgrace".

The law required two-thirds majority in all three houses of the General Synod to occur, but despite comfortably handle in both houses of bishops and clergy, are dealt a mortal blow at the laity, where lay members voted 132 votes in favor and 74 against. If only six members of the laity voted for rather than against, the measure was approved.

The result was a disappointment for activists who warned that the image of the Church in the eyes of Parliament and the public had been seriously damaged. It was also a blow to Williams, whose time at Lambeth Palace has been dominated by the question and had campaigned personally for each other.

"Sure, I hoped and prayed that this business could be another step before you go, and of course, this is a personal sadness, a deep personal sadness, that n is not the case, "said.

failure will also present a challenge for Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham, who succeeded Williams next year. In an impassioned plea to the personal vote, urged the Synod to support the measure and "finish the job" of the ordination of women. Welby was "balance" on Tuesday night. The house of bishops, who voted 44 to three in favor of reform, with two abstentions, will meet in emergency session to try to find a way to save the legislation.

• If it fails, the Synod will not be able to return to the women bishops legislation for three years, during which time supporters are likely to promote a more uncompromising single clause. Bill rejected had worked with a code of conduct to ensure that oppose women bishops - particularly conservative evangelicals and traditional Catholics Anglo -. Bishop could have asked for alternative male
• "We are deeply disappointed that the General Synod has made a decision so out of line with the will of the Church of England as a whole," said Law Group neutralization Synod, which campaign against these bishops called theft. "The decision of the synod to reject the measure to the point that the vast majority of men and women in the Church of England want and shows that our attempts at compromise were ignored. This undermines the validity of every woman and ordained ministry sends a negative message to all women in the world. "

Tony Baldry, the Conservative MP in charge of talking to the synod to Parliament, said it would be "extremely difficult, if not impossible" to explain the current situation of the church members. He warned that it would be difficult for him to defend the place guarantee for Bishops in the Lords.

Although some have suggested that the move could even jeopardize their status as the established church, Baldry said he thought that the increased risk was simple "lack of interest". "I think the greatest danger of the church after the vote, is that more and more considered as any other sect," he said.

A source close to the Secretary of Culture, Maria Miller, who is also minister for women and equalities, said: "Although it is a matter of the church is very disappointing that we are trying to help women meet. their potential in society that the judgment might suggest that the church is at least behind the times. "When the measurement has gone to 44 dioceses of the Church at the beginning of this year, 42 approved.
ComRes poll in July found that 74% of respondents thought women clergy should be able to reach the highest levels of the church. The Bishop of Lincoln, Christopher Lowson, said the vote could not make the church look even more dated. "This is a very sad day, not only for those of us who support the ministry of women, but for the future of the church, which could very well be severely damaged by this," he said.

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