Women Bishops rally round Philip North in Sheffield row

Mar 3, 2017 by

by Madeline Davies, Church Times:

WOMEN bishops have expressed support for the Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Revd Philip North, after he was called on to withdraw acceptance of his nomination as Bishop of Sheffield.

The Bishop of Dorking, Dr Jo Bailey Wells, said that, on hearing of his nomination, she had “sensed the hand of God at work”, and regarded it as “the sign of a healthy Church: one that is learning to live in unity amid diversity, even in a situation where one member’s convictions are a source of pain to another”.

Concerns were raised about the translation of Bishop North, a suffragan in Blackburn diocese, shortly after the announcement was made on 31 January. WATCH issued a statement that spoke of the “sadness felt by many” (News, 3 February).

Last week, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, the Very Revd Professor Martyn Percy, proposed that Bishop North should voluntarily withdraw from nomination, as “an act of integrity, consistent with his beliefs, and with his wider concerns for the catholicity of the Church, and for the flourishing of pastoral relationships”. In an essay for Modern Church, he writes: “If your own diocesan bishop doesn’t think your sacramental ministry as a woman and a priest is actually efficacious, then your integrity comes under real pressure.”

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