Church Of England On Its Way To Allowing Female Bishops

The Church of England published draft legislation that would allow for women to be ordained as bishops, an issue that has long divided Anglicans. The proposed measures will go up for debate in February, and there have been threats by more than 1,300 clergy to quite if safeguards are not put in place.

Because some people don’t want women to become bishops (they think it goes against Bible teachings), the proposed legislation allows for parishes that object to having women bishops to nominate “complementary bishops” to minister to them. These men would abide by the authority of the woman bishop, but act as a sort of go-between. So, it’s possible that the first woman bishop could be installed around 2014; however, the Vatican has warned that a decision allowing the ordination of women bishops could harm reconciliation between the Church of England and the Catholic Church. One small step for women could upset the whole religious community. [AFP]