WATCH’s proposal to abolish the ‘House of Bishops Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests.
by Martin Davie:
The Church of England is a church in which women can be ordained as deacons, priests and bishops. It is also a church in which provision is made to protect the convictions of those in the Catholic and Evangelical traditions who cannot accept that it is theologically legitimate for women to be priests and bishops and who are therefore unable in good conscience to accept their priestly or episcopal ministry.
This position is set out in the ‘House of Bishops Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests’ which accompanied the legislation passed by the Church of England to allow women to become bishops.[1]
The campaign group Women and the Church (WATCH) is now calling for the Church of England ‘to find a generous way to bring the Declaration and its arrangements to an end.’ [2]The question that arises from this call is what would replace it. WATCH have not yet spelled this out in any detail, but their direction of travel is indicated by their explanation of what they see as the problem on their ‘Not Yet Equal’ website. This states:
‘The Church of England, with its 26 seats in the House of Lords, has exemptions under the Equality Act 2010, giving it the legal power to discriminate against women.
Did you know that the Church uses this power to allow churches to:
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