Philip North’s nomination to Blackburn was legitimate, reviewer concludes
by Francis Martin, Church Times:
A REVIEW, published on Thursday, of the appointment of the Rt Revd Philip North as Bishop of Blackburn has concluded that his nomination followed the proper processes, but makes several recommendations how these processes could be improved.
Campaigners had raised concerns about Bishop North’s views on the ordination of women, which he has said is an area on which the Church of England should not be at variance with the wider Church ().
A submission by the campaign group Women and the Church (WATCH) centred on concerns about how having a bishop who does not ordain women could undermine clergy in the diocese and the diocesan bishop’s function as a figure of unity.
The submission, along with other testimony, was considered by the Independent Reviewer for the House of Bishops Declaration, Maggie Swinson — who is also the current chair of the Anglican Consultative Council (News, 17 February).
At the time of his appointment, Bishop North told the Church Times that the diocese, in which he previously served as the Suffragan Bishop of Burnley, had “worked out how to make it work” (News, 13 January).
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