Ecumenism
The Anglican debate on women bishops
By Catholic Insight Staff

Hardcopy Issue Date: September 2002
Online Publication Date: Sep 18, 2002, 16:39

London- In April, an Anglican group declared that its members will leave the Church of England if it consecrates women bishops-as it is expected to do within the next few years. Forward in Faith is a group of Anglicans who do not accept women priests (see "Anglican split widens" C.I., March 2000, pp. 21-22). It is demanding a "free province," or separate church within the Anglican Communion. It would also like a substantial share of church property and investments.

The group's director, Stephen Parkinson, said, "If they consecrate women as bishops, that's the end. If the Church fails to deliver the free province we want, then vast numbers of traditionalists will be freed to leave for Rome, the Orthodox Church, or some form of "continuing Anglicanism."

Forward in Faith represents about a thousand Anglican clergy and has the backing of perhaps 6,000 lay churchgoers. Its attitude of defiance makes little impression on a rival group, Women in the Church. Christina Rees, its chairwoman, dismissed Forward in Faith's claims with contempt: "The overwhelming majority of people have welcomed and are accepting women's ministry. If people cannot accept the decisions of every decision-making body in the Church, then perhaps they are in the wrong Church."

Who will win?
On June 20, the Archbishop of Wales, Rowan Williams, 52, was chosen to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury, succeeding George Carey, 66, who retires on October 31. The appointment has been approved by Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair, a procedure increasingly seen as inappropriate for today. Aside from that, Archbishop Williams is a supporter of both homosexual "rights" including same-sex marriage for Anglican "priests," and ordaining women ministers to be bishops.

In Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal (Anglican) Church voted overwhelmingly in favour of female bishops on June 14. Clergy members of the synod voted for the motion 64-8, and lay members 64-7. After further debate in the seven Scottish dioceses, the resolution will be presented again in 2003 when, after a two-thirds majority agrees, it will become law.

Comment:
Rees is clearly right in her observation that female bishops will be accepted. Anglican jurisdictions in Western-oriented countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States all introduced women first, and then female bishops, years before the Church of England accepted women "priests" in November 1992.

Since 1992, the number of opponents to female ministers and bishops in England has shrunk. Over 400 Anglican clergy joined the Catholic Church. Others moved over to break-away Anglican communities such as the Anglican Catholic Church whose members see themselves as "continuing" what they believe to be the Catholic tradition of Anglicanism. They see the "official" Anglicanism as represented by the 28 national churches, as thoroughly corrupted by the moral permissiveness of the last 40 years. This permissiveness in turn, reflects the secularization of the Anglican religion as recently explained again by Dr. Edward Norman, Anglican Chancellor of York Minster, in his book Secularization.

Norman praises the heroism of many clergymen who carry on as best they can while the national Church divests itself of its supernatural functions. Anglican Christianity can the more easily accept merely secular ends, he writes, because of the widespread ignorance of doctrine among its adherents. Anglicans are shy of teaching doctrine (especially of teaching it as true); moreover, they lack a mechanism of authority to identify error and heresy in their ranks (the Archbishop of Canterbury, the nominal "head" of Anglicanism, has no authority other than in his own diocese). Only the Evangelical and Catholic wings of the Church of England, he says, are free from disbelief in the miraculous occurrences in the life of Christ. As for morality, the laity make up their own-demanding a painless, happy existence as a matter of right-and the clergy are too fearful of controversy to instruct them (Tablet, May 15).

With the new Archbishop in favour of catching up with the sister communities in North America and Australia, the outcome is a foregone conclusion. Meanwhile, Pope John Paul II continues his gracious and courteous relationship with the Archbishop of Canterbury. As St. Augustine said, "Christians who are separated from the Church are still brothers, no matter how they see Catholics. Catholics must continue to extend a brotherly hand."

Dr. George Carey on his last visit to Rome in June said of the Pope "I have a high regard for him as a fellow Christian and respect his leadership enormously in worldwide Christianity" (Zenit, June 21).

Divorce

One other observation. Archbishop Rowan Williams has announced that there is no impediment to a rumoured marriage between Prince Charles (Anglican) and the divorced Camilla Parker-Bowles (Catholic). Yet Archbishop George Carey said only five years ago that a church wedding for the future Supreme Governor of the Church of England "would cause a crisis for the church" (LSN, July 15/02).

From the Catholic point of view, a church wedding would be impossible. Aside from their past adultery, Parker-Bowles's (former) marriage has not been annulled and therefore she is not in a position to re-marry.