Ruth Wishart wonders how, given the problems of the world, a church council can spend two days with its panties in a twist over opening its highest posts to women:
Many, many toys were flung from the evangelical wing’s prams. There were schemes for a sort of flying bishop corps who could swoop into dioceses contaminated by female ordination, so that no dissident member of a flock should be deprived that brand of clerical wisdom and pastoral care which can apparently be dispensed uniquely by men.
It wasn’t dressed up as anything so crass as misogyny of course. It was a matter of the highest learned and theological principle. As it should say in the good book: “Aye, right.” And the muttering went on when the numbers of women priests slowly rose until, good grief, there seemed to be hundreds of the besoms. Just as well a huge proportion of them couldn’t actually find paid employment.
…
If I were that all-purpose Martian, landing in the vicinity of the York Synod these past few days, I’d be pretty staggered they thought nothing on this troubled planet mattered more than bishops wearing bras.
Recommended reading. Speaking of ceilings and of the dangers of letting women wear the pants, check out our next post.
On the subject of the C of E General Synod’s debate on women bishops, Thinking Anglicans has collected together the ABC’s three interventions/contributions.
News flash: Church of England bishops ‘will be allowed to become nuns’, according to Synod source
Damian Thompson: “I thought this was a spoof at first, but it seems not: a General Synod working party is exploring whether the Church of England’s male bishops can join religious orders previously reserved for women. In other words, become Anglican nuns.”