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Church needs radical new strategy over female bishops, says internal memo Almost half the lay members who voted against female bishops were women
(about 2 hours later)
The Church of England faces a "major constitutional crisis" over female bishops and must embrace an "urgent and radical" new strategy in order to see women in the episcopate by 2015, according to an internal memo written for the archbishops in the wake of last week's vote. Almost half the Church of England lay members who voted against a measure that would have paved the way for female bishops were women, new data shows.
The memo by William Fittall, secretary general of the church's governing body, written soon after the General Synod failed to pass long-awaited legislation due to a minority of voters in the house of laity, says the blow dealt to morale in the church – particularly among female clergy – is "severe" and that steps need to be taken in July to pass new legislation. According to voting records released on Monday, 33 of the 74 General Synod lay members who caused the long-awaited legislation to fail were women – most of them affiliated with the conservative evangelical group Reform or the traditional Anglo-Catholic movement Forward in Faith.
The measure, which needed a two-thirds majority in each of the three houses of the synod, was passed comfortably in the house of bishops and clergy but lost in the laity by six votes. 132 lay members voted in favour.
The three bishops who voted against the measure were shown to be John Goddard, the bishop of Burnley, Geoffrey Rowell, the bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, and Martin Warner, the Anglo-Catholic bishop of Chichester. At his enthronement on Sunday Warner admitted the vote had had a "damaging effect" on the church.
The details of Tuesday's vote came as the church was warned it faced a "major constitutional crisis" over female bishops and must embrace an "urgent and radical" new strategy in order to see women in the episcopate by 2015.
An internal memo written for the archbishops by William Fittall, secretary general of the church's governing body, says the blow dealt to morale in the church – particularly among female clergy – is "severe" and steps need to be taken in July to pass new legislation.
"We have to do so because time is not on our side," says the memo, seen by the Times. "Parliament is impatient. Unless the Church of England can show very quickly that it's capable of sorting itself out, we shall be into a major constitutional crisis in church-state relations, the outcome of which cannot be predicted with confidence.""We have to do so because time is not on our side," says the memo, seen by the Times. "Parliament is impatient. Unless the Church of England can show very quickly that it's capable of sorting itself out, we shall be into a major constitutional crisis in church-state relations, the outcome of which cannot be predicted with confidence."
The archbishops' council, the church's executive leadership body, is due to discuss the crisis when it meets on Tuesday and Wednesday. But an initial decision on how to solve the increasingly pressing problem is not expected to be taken until the house of bishops meets in December.The archbishops' council, the church's executive leadership body, is due to discuss the crisis when it meets on Tuesday and Wednesday. But an initial decision on how to solve the increasingly pressing problem is not expected to be taken until the house of bishops meets in December.
Fittall's memo, titled Women in the Episcopate – Where Next?, urges church leaders to take into account the tide of anger and incredulity in parliament that met last week's failed vote. He suggests ploughing ahead with simpler legislation that would have no provision for opponents and could, he says, be put to the vote when synod meets in York in July. Fittall's memo, titled Women in the Episcopate – Where Next?, urges church leaders to take into account the tide of anger and incredulity in parliament that met last week's failed vote. He suggests ploughing ahead with simpler legislation that would have no provision for opponents and could, he says, be put to the vote when the synod meets in York in July.
"There will be renewed calls now for a much wider, simpler legislative approach that confines itself to removing the current prohibition on the consecration of women while leaving provision for those opposed to that development to be made as a matter of policy and choice rather than law," he writes."There will be renewed calls now for a much wider, simpler legislative approach that confines itself to removing the current prohibition on the consecration of women while leaving provision for those opposed to that development to be made as a matter of policy and choice rather than law," he writes.
"In weighing how best and how quickly to proceed, the [archbishops'] council needs to take very seriously both the degree of parliamentary anger and the desire of many in the church to circumvent the synod because of the perception that it is not properly representative of wider church opinion.""In weighing how best and how quickly to proceed, the [archbishops'] council needs to take very seriously both the degree of parliamentary anger and the desire of many in the church to circumvent the synod because of the perception that it is not properly representative of wider church opinion."
Observers on Monday questioned how, when a measure that made provisions for opponents of female bishops failed to muster the required two-thirds majority, a more radical measure paying less attention to their position could be expected to get through the synod. The answer, say some, lies in the fact that some of the lay members who voted against may have done so out of objections to the measure rather than to female bishops. A full list of how individuals voted is expected to be released by the church on Tuesday.Observers on Monday questioned how, when a measure that made provisions for opponents of female bishops failed to muster the required two-thirds majority, a more radical measure paying less attention to their position could be expected to get through the synod. The answer, say some, lies in the fact that some of the lay members who voted against may have done so out of objections to the measure rather than to female bishops. A full list of how individuals voted is expected to be released by the church on Tuesday.