Church of England to consider women bishops

The House of Bishops is to discuss the report of the Legislative Drafting Group considering proposals to allow for women bishops at its next meeting in May.

The report of the group, chaired by the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester, has been published today and will be debated by General Synod in July.

"The Drafting Group has worked together well and produced a significant piece of analysis. The report includes illustrative drafts of possible legislation and sets out the choices that the Church now has to make. We have not offered a preferred answer," said Bishop Nigel McCulloch.

"The central issue for the Church of England, as our report points out, is the extent to which the Church wishes to accommodate the breadth of theological views that it currently encompasses in relation to women priests and bishops. Against that background, we have set out the three broad approaches which the Church of England could take if it wishes to move towards ordaining women bishops."

The Drafting Group sets out three approaches in its report: a national statutory approach with no binding national arrangements; legislation that would provide some basis for special arrangements for those unable to receive the ministry of women bishops, such arrangements to be made within the present structures of the Church of England; legislation that would create new structures within the Church of England for those unable to receive the ministry of women bishops.

The Group does not offer a recommendation of its own but analyses the pros and cons of each approach, identifying, where relevant, various sub options.

The final section of the report stated that the Synod's constitution and standing orders for legislation of this kind make it unlikely that it would be legally possible for women to be consecrated bishops in the Church of England much before 2014.

The Manchester Report is available on the web at: www.cofe.anglican.org/info/papers/womenbishopsreport