The Archbishop of Canterbury says the problem is not whether or not to have women bishops, but what to do with those Anglicans who disapprove but don't want to leave the church.
News that fewer than 50 Anglicans are converting to Roman Catholicism has set cassocks twitching, leading to talk of an exodus and an earthquake in the Church of England and what the ramifications are for the archbishop of Canterbury, who is only ever described as besieged, beleaguered, embattled or all three.
The reality, for the seasoned observer anyway, is less exciting.
True, the defections are significant.
They indicate enthusiasm, however modest in the first instance, for a Vatican initiative unveiled last year – an enclave within the Roman Catholic church for those wishing to convert while retaining some Anglican traditions.
They should also mark the beginning of the end of an agonising, inexorable and voluble struggle over the ordination of women to the priesthood.
There are clergy and parishioners in the Church of England who want nothing to do with ordained women and the men who have ordained them and they have sought spiritual leadership from flying bishops, men who have neither ordained women nor been "tainted" by their ministry.
But these arrangements will come to an end when, in around five years' time, women finally break through the stained-glass ceiling to don a mitre.
The legislation allowing them to become bishops is crawling through a consultation and revision process.
But opponents claim it offers no protection from female leadership and it is this perceived omission that led the Bishop of Fulham to be first to leap into the Tiber, declaring the Church of England's governing body to be "vindictive, vicious and fascist".
It is worth pointing out the sky has not fallen in because of the departure of more than 500 clergy since the 1990s, when women entered the priesthood, receiving payouts totalling £27.4m. Some of them even returned to the fold.
In 2008, around 1,300 clergy threatened to leave if the general synod removed legal obstacles barring the ordination of women as bishops. Earlier this year, one traditionalist estimated the figure would be around 200.
This time, however, there is no financial compensation for exiting clergy and Catholic pensions and stipends are far less generous than Anglican ones. Nobody knows how the new enclave will work or what it will offer in terms of housing.
There could also be protracted disputes over property ownership. Unsurprisingly, given the levels of uncertainty surrounding the Vatican offer, the number of serving clergy who have thus far announced their intention to convert is two.
Against a backdrop of fighting talk there is activity elsewhere, as there are more traditionalists who wish to stay in the Church of England than leave it.
They are trying their utmost to find a way of avoiding female leadership by launching splinter groups and wooing bishops for support. Failing that, they want to scupper the legislation by voting against it in 2012.
In all affairs Anglican, the most intriguing aspect is what Rowan Williams, pictured, will do next. He spent the last week in India, marvelling at the country's ability to embrace religious pluralism and giving remarkably candid interviews to the local press.
He regrets the Bishop of Fulham is leaving the Church of England – and the language he chose to announce his resignation.
But in his mind, there is still something to play for.
He told the Hindu: "That's been the most difficult question: not whether or not we have women bishops but what will be the provisions made for the minority. This last summer, the synod declined to accept the suggestions made by the archbishops and I understand their reasons. But it's left us with quite a lot of work to try and do our best for that group as well as honouring the calling of women to the Episcopate. We are still trying to find a fair accommodation for people of his [the bishop's] conviction."
With members of general synod and beyond rattling their sabres in the run-up to the crucial vote in 2012, ordinary churchgoers will no doubt continue to be perplexed, if not annoyed, by the energy, intellect and resources devoted to a single issue.
SIC: TC/UK
No comments:
Post a Comment