Sex in the Church

The Church of England is going to have women bishops. Probably. But not until 2014. First of all, the decision has to be agreed by a majority of church people in their diocesan synods, and then go through Parliament. Meanwhile those opposed to the plan will be hoping to recruit more opponents to stand in the coming election to the General Synod so they can vote against it in 2012. If they fail, as they probably will, some congregations may become Roman Catholics and some will invite bishops from Africa to look after them. Happily, the parish of St Peter in Wellesbourne, served now by two women priests, will not be affected.

But all this is likely to puzzle people outside the Church. How is it that the Church, which is full of women worshippers, has been so slow to appoint them as leaders? And once appointed, surely they either are leaders or they are not? How can you have a semi-detached group which says they can't have a woman as their leader, however gifted she is? The answer to the first question is not only that the Church has a 2,000 year history of male leadership, but that quite properly it does not necessarily follow the conventions of the day. If the Church is to have women bishops it should be because we need their gifts, and because they can represent all God's people, not because it is politically correct or conforms to current legislation.

The answer to the question of how the minority who disagree are to be treated is that the Church is not like a political party, where the defeated simply have to put up with the democratic decision. Elections and debates may give that impression, but the Bible image of the Church is that it is the Body of Christ, where every member is valued – however small or, in the eyes of the majority, mistaken. If the Church runs on faith, then your faith – even if it takes a different shape from mine – has to be respected. The issue then becomes: how do we respect the convictions of the minority without undermining the position of a woman who becomes a bishop? This is what the General Synod wrestled with early in July, concluding that each diocese would need to resolve that issue for itself. It could not be dealt with in a legal framework, as some wanted, without creating a female sort-of-bishop. The working out of this, if it proves to be the final decision, will take a great deal of grace and understanding on both sides.

Yet isn't this precisely what we should expect the Church to be good at? Jesus said ‘Blessed are the peace-makers, for they will be called children of God.’

The other issue which has reached the national press as I write is the alleged nomination of Jeffrey John, the Dean of St Alban's Cathedral, to be the new Bishop of Southwark, and the equally alleged cancellation of that nomination because of his homosexuality. I say ‘alleged’ because the proceedings of the group who put forward names for bishops to the Prime Minister are supposed to be strictly confidential. Dean John is an openly gay man in a civil partnership with another priest but, in accordance with Church of England rules for its clergy (but not its lay people), celibate, i.e. not sexually active. If the leak is genuine, this is the second time that his name has been blocked.

All Christian churches are having to wrestle with homosexuality because its increasing acceptance in the North Atlantic nations runs counter to its apparent condemnation in the Bible, though Jesus is not recorded as having said anything about it. Over the centuries the Church has had mighty arguments about a whole series of moral issues: military service, usury, slavery, capital punishment, divorce, contraception, and even marriage to a deceased wife's sister. Homosexuality is merely the latest issue, and like the question of women's leadership in the Church, arouses strong feelings. The opponents of women bishops will be accused of misogyny, and the opponents of gay bishops of homophobia. While this may be true of some, it is important to conduct both arguments in terms of principle, not by insult. And since both arguments are likely to go on for some time, let's remember that ‘blessed are the peace-makers’.

Christopher Lamb

A Walk for Matthew