ENGLAND: WOMEN COULD BECOME ‘SECOND-CLASS’ BISHOPS

By Jonathan Petre – The Telegraph, February 24, 2004

A confidential Church of England report suggests women might be allowed to become bishops—but only as “junior” or restricted ones—barred from the most senior posts, including Archbishop of Canterbury or York.

The draft, produced by a working party chaired by the Bishop of Rochester, Rt. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali, outlines compromise options intended to win over conservative evangelicals who oppose female leadership on grounds of biblical “headship”—the belief that men should hold ultimate spiritual authority.

One proposal allows women to fill one of the 43 diocesan bishoprics—but excludes them from the two archbishoprics. Critics call this a “stained-glass ceiling,” warning it would entrench inequality.

The General Synod is expected to debate the matter in late 2004 or early 2005. If approved, legislation could be enacted within five years—though hard-line traditionalists may still reject any compromise.

This debate unfolds as the global Anglican Communion fractures over sexuality—and a decade after women’s ordination triggered one of the Church’s deepest crises.