Church of England Synod to hear of delay to women bishops debate

The Church of England’s governing body will today hear from the Bishop of Manchester on the delay to a debate on the consecration of women bishops.

The Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch is expected to announce in a progress report at the start of General Synod today that draft legislation has not been completed in time and will therefore be considered at the York Synod in July.

According to The Times, he is also expected to announce the decision of the revision committee charged with drafting the legislation not to appoint “super flying bishops” for those who oppose women bishops but instead “delegate” episcopal duties to a male bishop in instances where a parish cannot accept the ministry of a female bishop in charge.

The decision means an end to the proposal for a separate hierarchical structure within the Church of England, which critics feared would have undermined the authority of women bishops.

Legislation for women bishops is not expected to reach the final approval stage before 2012. The Church of England has repeatedly stated that the first consecration of a woman bishop is not likely to take place before 2014.

The decision not to incorporate an alternative structure for opponents of women bishops is expected to lead to an increase in the number of Anglican traditionalists taking up the Pope’s offer of care within the Catholic Church under "personal ordinariates".

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, told the BBC’s Sunday Sequence programme that traditional Anglicans joining the Catholic Church should become full Catholics instead of ordinariates.

He said: “If people genuinely realise that they want to be Roman Catholic, they should convert properly, and go through catechesis and be made proper Catholics.

"As far as I am concerned, if I was really, genuinely wanting to convert, I wouldn’t go into an ordinariate.

"I would actually go into catechesis and become a truly converted Roman Catholic and be accepted.”

An open letter sent to members of Synod today by clergy connected to traditionalist group Reform warned of a drop in the number of candidates for ordination if legislation fails to provide for them.

Reform chairman the Rev Rod Thomas predicted a “drastic cut” in the Church of England’s future intake of young ordinands.

“The current absence of any proposal from the General Synod’s Revision Committee to guarantee a future place for our views within the Church of England is causing great concern," he said.

Synod is also due to debate a private members’ motion put forward by Lorna Ashworth asking that Synod express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America.

It will also consider an amendment to the motion put forward by the Bishop of Bristol, the Rt Rev Mike Hill, asking Synod to instead affirm the desire of ACNA to remain in the Communion and the Archbishops to report back to Synod in 2011.