Church of England votes to ordain women bishops

London Times: Church of England votes to ordain women bishops
Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent


(Anna Gowthorpe/PA)
Some 1,300 Anglican clergy have threatened to leave the church over the issue

The Church of England decided last night to consecrate women bishops, with minimum concessions to opponents and despite the threat of a mass exodus of traditionalist clergy.

After one of the most contentious debates faced by the Church’s General Synod, its members voted to allow the consecration of women bishops but rejected compromise proposals for new “super bishops”, who would have catered to the objectors.

The decisions, after more than six hours of debate, led to extraordinary scenes at the University of York, with one bishop in tears as he spoke of being “ashamed” of the Church of England.

The Rt Rev Stephen Venner, Bishop of Dover, who is in favour of women bishops, said that the failure to agree to create “super bishops” meant that every opportunity to allow objectors to “flourish” within the Church had been turned down....

The decision led to members warning of the prospect of traditionalists seeking supervision from conservative archbishops in overseas provinces, as conservatives have in the US, after the dispute over gay ordination....

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who urged generous provision for opponents, sat with his head in his hands as a proposal for “super bishops” for objectors to women bishops was defeated....

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4289994.ece

Just trying to keep track of who's scarier...

exasperatedly,
Bright

there are some here at DU with much more detailed knowledge, and I'm hoping they'll impart some of that knowledge.

and the misogynists and the homophobes are the same group of people.

I'm very glad this decision was made.

This is also a grandstanding play by English conservatives trying to build off the recent GAFCON conference in Jerusalem. It failed. Epic fail, to use a DU phrase.

Here are links to many different UK newspaper reports on this subject.

http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/

Wait a minute ... that would mean we actually hafta talk to some Africans ... um ... um ...

There are a lot of fine women priests. I have been extremely impressed with all but one of the ones I've met. Why shouldn't they take the next logical step?

the church will survive and thrive.

and i applaud the church of england for joining with episcopalians here in the u.s. and canada and moving forward for women -- and all people.

we are all welcome at god's table!

:applause: :applause: :applause:

and his argument was that the strides made to reconcile the Church of England with the Roman Catholic Church would be set back by ordaining women bishops. That's kind of like saying that U.S. Democrats opposing torture, indefinite detention without trial, domestic spying, grand larceny by war profiteers, and slaughtering a million innocent people to get their oil, would be a set back to the great strides that the American political establishment has made in melding the Democratic and Republican parties. It's only a set-back to war profiteers, thieves, war criminals and other fascists. To everyone else, it would be a great thing to see the Democrats support the rule of law.

The Roman Catholic Church is wrong--VERY WRONG, bordering on psychosis--about women priests and bishops. To pander to them is wrong, just as Democratic pandering to Bushites is wrong, and a violation of every principle of democracy.

The previous Pope said it outright. He said that women can't be priests because women don't "physically resemble Jesus." We don't have pricks, in other words! We do have two eyes, two ears, a mouth, two arms, two legs, heart, liver, lungs, pancreas, the works--and, crown of glory, a human brain. But hey, a prick gives you just that little edge with God that makes you solely capable of doing the voodoo at the altar. God loves a prick! He's obsessed with pricks. The prick is the channel of His Magic Power.

Not the brain. Not the heart. Not the character. Not the love. Not the soul. The prick.

And it's odd--isn't it?--that a religious culture that holds celibacy in such high regard (or claims to) would be so focused on pricks. If celibacy is the keystone of the highest "vocation," what does it matter whether or not there is prick between the legs of the celibate one? But, of course, this error probably derives from deeper errors such as portraying God as a man, conveying the message that sex is bad, and associating that bad, nasty thing with women, and alienating humans from the natural world (to the point, now, that we are destroying the natural world for profit). Until recently, women who had given birth were banned from the sacred precinct of Catholic churches until they had been "purified." Birth is bad, dirty, low. God the Man had to act to cleanse mothers of their "sin." A religion that regards women in this way cannot be said to be Christian. It is a boys' club. It is a male cabal.

I'm glad to see people fighting back. The bar to women priests and bishops is a great injustice, with deep and disturbing historical roots, going back to the 3rd to 5th centuries AD, when the Catholic Church took a far right turn from which it has have never recovered. It is now in such profound violation of the teachings of Jesus as to almost deserve the word diabolical. It is about 1,500 years past due for serious reform. Its male hierarchy reeks of corruption and egotism. I hope this Church of England struggle helps empower the real Christians in the Catholic Church--and there are many--to bring about desperately needed reform, especially on this insulting, wrong, un-christian, anti-Jesus exclusion of women from the priesthood and all high positions.

...make it through the consecration ceremony and it's all-important "Presentation of the Penis" ritual?

ironically,
Bright

So are we Eastern Orthodox, but you don't see us putting the filioque clause into the Creed. What a silly thing to blame his misogyny on.

Interesting "prick" points . . .!

However, the priests are still wearing dresses --- which continue to tell the tale of

what they fear most -- the return of female spirituality --- the female goddess.


The patriarchy turned the world upside down with violence ---

Let's hope that one day we will see true spirituality return to our species -- guided

by LOVE and humanity, compassion and renewed connections to nature and the planet.


And most of all bring an end to the VIOLENCE which men teach ---

Via a post in the UK forum:



The poor little boys are so traumatised at the thought of having to dealing with The Monstrous Regiment, they want to huddle together with their fellow sufferers, rather than just turn up at a Catholic church like anyone else who said they wanted to join that church.

Will they have a secret handshake too?

Same problem we are having in the U.S. They want to leave the church, but steal the property that belongs to the dioceses.

They love to play victim, too, as if it is a way out of following the rules.

because, from my understanding of the Church of England, they wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of that - the property belongs to the diocese, and they've made sure of that, in law.

I think they're saying they want to be able to form congregations of 'ex-Anglicans', with their existing anti-woman priest, rather than having to mix with the existing Catholics in that area - and they'd want to either share an existing Catholic church, or get a new one (who'd pay for that, I don't know, but his plea "for magnanimous gestures from our Catholic friends" sounds like he wants the RCs to pay for this).

Catholic Herald article by Burnham is now online: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/articles/a0000323.shtml

and the Herald story about it (very similar to the blog piece above): http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/articles/a0000322.shtml

when some 500 clergy left, over the ordination of women as priests, from what I was reading the other day.

And the Catholic church is so desperate for clergy now, it could use the help, I guess. The job doesn't attract too many.

They sure don't have money to throw around buying ex-Anglicans church buildings. In this country Catholic churches and schools are being closed down in many places. I don't think that this Bishop's suggestion is going to fly very far.

that won't treat them as equal to men.

changing the church, little by little, until it is merely swiss cheese --- !!!


Can't wait!