From England-The Church of England published a plan on Friday to approve the ordination of women bishops by 2015, a widely supported reform it just missed passing last November after two decades of divisive debate.
It said the new plan, outlined in a document signed by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Archbishop of York John Sentamu, would be presented to the General Synod, the Church legislature, in July to begin the approval process.
The proposal would make allowances for traditionalists who oppose women clergy, a minority that blocked the reform at the last Synod meeting, but each diocese will have to have a bishop willing to ordain women to the priesthood, it said.
The issue pits reformers, keen to project a more modern and egalitarian image of the church as it struggles with falling congregations in many increasingly secular countries, against a minority of conservatives who see the change as contradicting the Bible.
"We are perhaps at a moment when the only way forward is one which makes it difficult for anyone to claim outright victory," said Bishop Nigel Stock, chairman of the working group drawing up new proposals after the reform's defeat last November.
More here-
http://www.charismanews.com/world/39638-women-bishops-becoming-church-of-england-reality
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