A small group of MPs has
called on the government to intervene to prevent the Church of England
blocking plans to let women be bishops on a "technicality".
Labour ex-minister Frank Field wants to end the Church's exemption from equality laws on gender discrimination.
He fears this loophole could mean the measure gets
overwhelming support in the dioceses but is not passed by the General
Synod due to the technicality.
Mr Field's Early Day Motion was signed by six MPs from all three main parties.
They were Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes, Labour
former Home Secretary David Blunkett, Diana Johnson, Labour ex-minister
Stephen Timms, Natascha Engel, and veteran Conservative Sir Peter
Bottomley.
In the motion, Mr Field said the General Synod expected to debate the final approval stage in July 2012.
The motion "encourages the House of Bishops to commend the
measure as currently drafted; and calls upon Her Majesty's government to
remove any exemptions pertaining to gender under existing equality
legislation, in the event that the measure has overwhelming support in
the dioceses but fails through a technicality to receive final approval
in General Synod".
The issue of allowing women to become bishops has long been a divisive one in the Church of England.
Earlier this month three Anglican bishops were ordained as
Roman Catholic priests because of their unhappiness with the ordination
of women in their own church.
More are expected to follow suit in the coming months.
The three bishops opposed the introduction of women bishops
and did not believe enough was being done for traditionalists to avoid
coming under the jurisdiction of women.
The Vatican has said it will allow the new Catholic bishops to maintain a distinct religious identity.
The newly established section of the Catholic Church is called the Ordinariate.