Draft Legislation to Consecrate Women Bishops

http://www.evangelicals.org/news.asp?id=953

[EVNews] 2 Jan 2009--This might appear to give the Code of Practice considerable force. However, this is not the case. At present a fundamental change such as the consecration of women bishops requires much more than a simple majority. This is intended to prevent the Church being blown about by fads and fashions. But the Code, which contains the real meat of the provision for those who cannot accept the innovation, can be changed by a simple majority of Synod. Thus the majority could render the provisions more or less ineffective. The valiant attempt made to strengthen the status of the Code will have some effect, but not very much. If adequate provision is to be made and to be acceptable it must be in the legislation itself because the Code cannot provide the necessary safeguards.

It must also be recognised that though bishops and others will have a “duty to have regard to” the Code this sort of thing is notoriously difficult to monitor and enforce.

Finally, the legislation is not making provision for alternative oversight, but just a form of delegated oversight. Opponents have consistently said that delegated oversight is inadequate. In particular, where a woman bishop is appointed parishes will still be under her authority and will have to petition her for the “complementary” oversight. Yet the very nature of the problem is that those parishes do not accept her authority. Thus the fundamental issue remains unresolved by this set of proposals.