The Rt Rev John Broadhurst, Bishop of Fulham, has warned the Church of England that it would be "legalised theft" if it attempted to retain church buildings used by Anglo-Catholic parishes attempting to join the Roman Catholic Church.
The Church of England's recent decision to allow women bishops has angered some in the Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church of England. They claim that top leadership positions within the Church should be reserved for men, as Christ only chose men to be his apostles.
Those against the consecration of women bishops were also dismayed at the decision of the Church of England General Synod to deny a proposal for separate dioceses for traditionalists who oppose the ordination of women.
According to The Telegraph, Anglo Catholics have said they hope to join the Catholic Church whilst being able to hold onto their current church property, but are fearful the Church of England may try to prevent them from doing so.
The problem has already occurred in the US where several parishes are locked in legal battles with the Episcopal Church over church property, after conservative parishes left the liberal-leaning Church over its acceptance of homosexuality.
Bishop Broadhurst is the chair of Forward in Faith, a group representing over 8,000 Anglo-Catholics in the Church of England. He said the group was attempting to find a way to create dioceses for traditionalists, but said there was no guarantee it would mean members of the group would stay within the Church of England.
Broadhurst has argued that any legal challenge by the Church of England could be complicated by the fact that many of the church buildings in question were once owned by the Catholic Church.
"Most of the assets of the Church of England in terms of buildings, schools and other property either come from the pre-Reformation Catholic Church or as a direct result of the Tractarian and Catholic revival," he was quoted by The Telegraph as saying.
"This property is very much our heritage and inheritance and to suggest that many wish to steal it from us in a very unpleasant form of legalised theft would not be an understatement."
