C of E talks on women priests

THE CHURCH of England is to reconsider the ordination of women priests at its General Synod next month, despite warnings by Catholics that such a move could jeopardise unity talks.
The Church of England last debated, and rejected, proposals to allow women to officiate in Britain six years ago. Even now, a vote of approval at the General Synod would not guarantee final agreement on legislation.
Since the last debate, the Movement for the Ordination of Women has been gathering steam, and has a strong supporter in the Rt Rev Ronald Bowlby, Anglican bishop of Southwark. But opponents of the proposed legislation, who draw much of their support from the Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church, are wary that the ordination of women in this country will represent a setback in its ecumenical relations.
In July, when the legislation — which would permit women to be ordained to the priesthood in the provinces of Canterbury and York for an experimental period — was first mooted, Bishop Alan Clarke of East Anglia, Chairman of the Catholic Bishops' Conference Department for Mission and Unity and a leading member of the Anglican/Roman Catholic International Commission, said that discussions would become substantially harder.
The fact that the Anglican communion abroad ordained women priests already provided an obstacle to unity, he said, "but I do feel that if women priests are allowed to officiate in this country, the barrier will be reinforced."