THE House of Bishops at their residential meeting this week discussed the part played by women within the Church of England, and agreed that every diocese must have no less than one adviser on women’s ministry.
They discussed commissioning a “significant piece of labor to evaluate ongoing disparities and discrimination based on gender within the Church of England”, a press release issued on Thursday said.
The work would seek to “discover how men and women may go higher together at local and national levels and offer a vision for a various church that works together for the flourishing of all.
“The overall aim of the work is to enable the inclusion and positive treatment of ladies within the Church, relatively than mirroring negative elements of wider culture, to supply Gospel hope and transformation.”
Earlier this yr, the campaign group Women and the Church (WATCH) launched a campaign to abolish the Five Guiding Principles and the settlement related to the laws for ladies bishops in 2014 (News, 4 April); and the traditionalist group Forward in Faith responded that the guarantees made at the moment to conscientious objectors to the change needs to be kept (News, 11 April).
The Bishop of Aston, the Rt Revd Esther Prior, subsequently defended the 2014 settlement on the Forward in Faith Festival this month, saying that, although she took a contrary view on the ordination of ladies, “I don’t think I need the C of E without you: we could be the poorer for it” (News, 16 May).
Last month, the House of Bishops responded to a review published last yr of the method for the appointment of the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Revd Philip North — a process that had been criticised by WATCH (News, 19 April 2024).
The Bishops’ statement said that “more work is required” on reviewing issues that were “impacting the ministry of ladies as priests and bishops”, and reaffirms the Bishops’ commitment to “ensuring that every one traditions throughout the Church can proceed to flourish together” (News, 2 May).
At the meeting this week, the Israeli blockade and bombardment of Gaza was also discussed, and bishops who had visited the region prior to now yr spoke about their experiences.
The House of Bishops agreed a press release, released on Thursday morning. The statement described the war in Gaza as “a grave sin that violently assaults God-given human dignity” (News, 23 May).
At the meeting, held within the Marriott Hotel, York, the Bishops also discussed the newest developments within the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process. Further proposals might be delivered to the House in autumn, after further consultation in dioceses.
Other topics discussed included the findings of research on the openness of Generation Z to faith, and proposals by the Archbishops’ Council to revive clergy pensions to two-thirds of pensionable stipend (News, 23 May).
