The devil is in the detail (From The Northern Echo)

The devil is in the detail

3:02pm Wednesday 8th February 2012 in Leader By Stuart Arnold

Amid continuing debate about whether women should be permitted to become bishops, Stuart Arnold looks at both sides of the argument.

IN two years’ time, the Church of England could have its first female bishop. But as befits such a thorny issue – the debate seems to have rumbled on for years and taken many legislative twists and turns – there could still be a lot of water to flow under the bridge before then.

Not least today, when the General Synod, the church’s Parliament, votes in a debate seen by some as another attempt to stifle progress towards equality.

Two years ago, legislation allowing for female bishops was agreed by the Synod and went out to the church’s diocese for consultation.

The vast majority gave their blessing.

The next step was final approval in July this year.

Now another hurdle has been put in front of the pro-women lobby in the form of an amendment to the legislation by the Bishop of Manchester calling on the church to create a separate category of male bishops ordained by men only and therefore acceptable to parishoners who reject the female equivalent.

Should it be accepted, critics fear it could set the whole process back ten years.

“It is really patronising as it is basically saying we will let women be bishops, but they can’t be the same kind of bishops as men,” says Reverend Dr Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, a chaplain and Solway Fellow at Durham University and member of the Synod.

“I am really hopeful the Synod will resist this proposal.”

As part of efforts to bring opponents of female bishops on board, a number of concessions have already been included within the legislation as it stands.

If a parish does not want to receive the ministry of a female bishop or a man who has ordained women, the bishop of the diocese has to provide them with an alternative male bishop.

Such concessions are regarded with incredulity by the Rev Dr Threlfall-Holmes, who also rejects any suggestion she could be among the front runners to be the first female bishop.

“I am not terribly happy with the legislation as it stands. There are about ten pages of which one line says women can be bishops and all the rest is provision for people who don’t like that and want to avoid women’s ministry,” she says.

“People need to examine their own consciences.

If you are saying you want to pick and choose a bishop who agrees with you, then you are the one destroying the idea of the bishop as a focus of unity.”

The Reverend Gareth Jones is a North Yorkshire- based regional dean with the organisation Forward in Faith, which was set up to bring together Anglicans who oppose the ordination of women, both as priests and bishops.

“We have had women priests in the church whether we like it or not for 20 years,” he says.

“But if women become bishops, the problem is they then become for us a sign of division and not of unity. That is because in the church the bishop stands as a sign of unity and somebody who is a guardian of the faith.

“We are unable to accept this innovation and as a result the church’s authority.

“There is an absolute need on our behalf to have male bishops ordained by male bishops as we believe this is the way God intended his church to be run.”

THE new Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Justin Welby, is one of those in favour of female bishops, but he is also at pains not to alienate those who are against.

“I support the ordination of women as bishops, while wanting to ensure that those who are – for reasons of conscience – against are properly valued and able to continue their ministry in the Church of England,” says Bishop Justin.

“I hope and expect to see women ordained bishop as soon as possible.

“All that being understood, the principal job of the church is to care for the areas in which it works, to demonstrate and proclaim the love of God through Jesus Christ, and to bring many people to faith in Jesus.”

The Reverend Dr Threlfall-Holmes says that if you accept women can be priests then the logic of that position is that they can be bishops too.

“The Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church are very clear on this and that there is no fundamental distinction between priests and bishops,” she says.

“Therefore, it is really a nonsense to have done it this way – to say women can be priests and then to have to argue for bishops again.

“The key decision was the one to ordain women as priests and what we are doing now is just a logical outworking of that.”

After two decades of female priests many, like the Rev Dr Threlfall-Holmes, admit to being frustrated that women do not yet hold the most senior positions in the church.

“The Church of England has taken very seriously everyone’s concerns and that is why it has taken so long, but there is a general view emerging that this is the right way forward and we need to get on with it now because this is wasting too much time and energy.

“There is a great sense of urgency about getting this done, because people realise that we are increasingly looking really out of touch.

“It is really important that, as the established church, we have bishops without discrimination and, whatever legislation we end up with, we have women able to be bishops on the same terms as men.”