Archbishop of York Successor may be more Liberal

According to a round of consultation in the Diocese of York, which was conducted by the church and Downing Street civil servants responsible for senior appointments, the next Archbishop of York should welcome the changes in the Church’s policy on homosexual priests and women bishops.

The meeting took place at Bishopthorpe, where the Prime Minister’s Secretary for Appointments, William Chapman, and the Archbishop’s Appointments Secretary, Caroline Boddington, were lobbied on women bishops and gay priests.

The current Archbishop of York, Rev David Hope, has signalled in the past that he would consider resigning over the issue of women bishop ordinations, however, in the meeting with the Crown Nominations Commission, 50 people expressed their desire for the next archbishop to welcome the change on women bishops.

The Crowns Nominations Commission may be on the path to a more liberal view on current church issues; since the Bishop of Newcastle was elected as the representative of the House of Bishops to the Commission. Bishop of Newcastle, Martin Wharton caused great controversy and divided opinions when he was one of the few liberal bishops to publicly support Canon Jeffrey John’s appointment in Reading.

Late last month the Diocese of York Vacancy-in-See Committee elected its six members to the Commission. They were:
- Bishop of Hull, Richard Frith
- Archdeacon of Cleveland, Paul Ferguson
- Mr Richard Liversedge
- Mrs Jennifer Reid
- Mr Ian Smith
- Canon Glyn Webster.

The CNC will be chaired by the Lord Lieutenant Sir Nigel Sherlock, and will also contain three clergy representatives: Paul Collier, Canon Penny Driver and Professor Anthony Thiselton. In addition the Archbishop of Canterbury will be a member of the Commission and three lay members; Mrs Janet Atkins, Mr Ian Grden and Dr Elaine Storkey make up the CNC.