THE House of Bishops, meeting in York this week, has counselled against any delay in a decision on women bishops when the General Synod meets in July.A statement issued on Tuesday says: “The House is aware that there are those who believe that the present legislative process does not have the potential to lead to a satisfactory conclusion and that a better outcome is more likely to be achieved in some years’ time.
“Most members of the House consider, however, that it is crucial to keep faith with the present process. They see no grounds for believing that the issues with which the Church is grappling will become significantly easier to resolve with the passage of time.”
The House of Bishops acknowledges that it is as divided as the rest of the Church.
A majority of the members of the House “strongly support the admission of women to the episcopate”, the statement says, but, at the same time, “there remains a strong commitment on the part of the House to preserve an honoured place within the Church of England for those unable to receive this development.”
The House contains “a variety of views” about how this might best be achieved.
The Bishops warn that the July meeting of the Synod, when members will have the opportunity of debating the women-bishops Measure clause by clause, “has the potential to be one of the most demanding meetings of the Synod for many years”.
It urges members “to listen with particular care to those with views that differ from their own and to acknowledge the passion and sincerity with which those views are held”.
The Bishops promise that, if the decision of the Synod is to proceed with a statutory Code of Practice, as seems likely, they will assemble a group to work on a fresh draft of the Code as soon as possible.
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