Bradford women priests' reaction to Synod vote on women bishops

A draft measure ushering in the prospect of women bishops cleared the Houses of Bishops and Clergy in the General Synod, but did not gain the necessary two-thirds majority among lay members.

The vote was the biggest in the 20 years since the General Synod backed the introduction of women priests in 1992, and comes after 42 out of the 44 dioceses of the Church of England backed the legislation.

If the measure had received final approval, it would have gone to the Houses of Parliament before Royal Assent, with the first women bishops on course to be appointed as early as 2014.

The Rev Cayte Norman, vicar of Rawdon and Rural Dean of churches in Aireborough and the Lower Wharfedale, says the decision is “a disappointing result for the church, women priests and women generally”.

She adds: “When I was ordained I noticed that many women saw it as a firming of women’s place in society. Consecrating women bishops would have done the same, so it is a missed opportunity.”

But she is confident that women will become bishops in future. “It is going to happen but it means the Church is going to spend another five years talking about it instead of doing it,” she says.

The Rev Ruth Yeoman, vicar of Menston Parish church, is also disappointed.

She believes the Church “would have been applauded” for taking the issue forward, and questions whether it should now concentrate its energies on more pressing matters currently affecting society as a whole.

Ruth believes there are decisions to be made. “I think we need to look at this and address some of the issues that were being raised, and to move forward as quickly and as appropriately as possible,” she says.

If the Church of England can’t find a way forward, Ruth suggests it focuses on other things the Church needs to engage with. “We have had a debate on the living wage and youth unemployment. I think it is important we don’t devote all our energies to internal matters.” she says.

She says the Church of England needs to channel its energies on ensuring it is visible in every part of the country and continues to be active in local communities.

Canon Dilly Baker, the Residentiary Canon at Bradford Cathedral, says the decision on women bishops is “a huge loss for the Church”.

“We were expecting it to go through. We have been working for it for a long time and I think it would have inevitably meant the Church had more credibility,” she says.

“We believe in Christian tradition, that men and women are created equal and we both bear the image of God, women and men together.”

Canon Baker recalls that the same arguments arose when the ordination of women priests was being discussed in the late 1980s. “So it’s very frustrating to see the same arguments are being pulled out again,” she says.

But she too is confident women will eventually become bishops. “It will get through, it’s bound to get through, but it’s a case of timing. The vast majority of people in the Church of England want to see women as bishops,” she says.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who leaves his post at the end of this year after a decade, spoke of his “deep personal sadness” at the result.

“Of course I hoped and prayed that this particular business would be at another stage before I left, and course it is a personal sadness, a deep personal sadness, that this is not the case,” he said.

He said the Church of England had a “lot of explaining” to do after the General Synod rejected the legislation and claimed it had lost a “measure of credibility” in wider society following the defeat of the legislation.

The Catholic Group on the General Synod, which backed a no vote, said in a statement: “We regret the Synod was put in the position whereby draft legislation failed at final approval because it was unclear and unfair in its provision for those who, in conscience, are unable to accept the ministry of women as bishops or priests.”