The Church of England has always voted for women Bishops.
Ever since the ordination of women to the priesthood 20 years
ago, the church has been making its way, slowly but surely, towards the
ordination of women as Bishops.
Every round of voting (and there have been many) has left no
doubt that it was the will of the Church.
When I was a member of General Synod from 2000 – 2005, we had 2 of
rounds of voting – both clearly in favour - but there have been many more.
So how is it that the law which would have created women
bishops was thrown out – even when 74% of the General Synod and 42 out of the
44 dioceses in the CofE voted for it?
The answer lies in a voting system which is designed to
prevent significant change.
In most areas, a simple majority in General Synod is needed
to take something forward. In a few
cases the issue has to be sent to dioceses to vote on before it can come back
to General Synod for the final majority vote.
But there are some areas where not only does General Synod
have to vote for change - which is a challenge in the first place – but then it
has to go to each diocese to be voted on – and then if a majority of dioceses
support it, the innovation finally comes back to General Synod where it has to
pass an even higher bar – a 2/3rds majority in each of the 3 ‘Houses’ –
Bishops, Clergy, and Laity.
And that death by attrition is what scuppered the women
Bishops vote. It is democracy
gone mad – a self-defeating democracy where the will of the majority is ignored
in deference to the minority. It is
designed to ensure that radical change is prevented at all costs and this un-democratic
framework has resulted in the CofE shooting itself in the foot with both
barrels.
So what is it about women’s ministry that makes it such a
threat? Why should women’s ministry have
to pass all the ridiculously high hurdles before the church can change? Why are women so dangerous that such
anti-democratic measures have to be employed to keep them in their place?
When women were ordained priest, it was only by the slimmest
of 2/3rd majorities – just 2 votes in the infamous House of
Laity. Many predicted doom for the
church as a result, but nothing could be further from the truth. Women now outnumber men in ordination
services, a third of all licenced clergy are now women and the church has not
fallen apart. Far from it, the church
has been blessed by women priests up and down the country. Those who have left as a result have left –
but what of it? The church has not
disintegrated. A church which doesn’t allow people to leave
is not a church – it is a prison. And a
church which does not allow change because it fears the people who threaten to
leave becomes a prison of a different kind – a prison of the past.
Having reflected on the debacle which we witnessed in the Synod vote, I have realised that the problem is not the membership of
the Church of England – it is not the Bishops or the Clergy. It is certainly not the Laity who voted ‘yes’
in 42 out of 44 Dioceses and by a clear majority in General Synod. It is the system of voting we have shackled
ourselves with – a system which despises the will of the majority – a system
which requires ever higher hurdles to be negotiated until finally the loser
becomes the winner in a moment worthy of Alice in Wonderland.
It is not the women Bishop’s legislation which needs fixing -
it is the voting system itself. Until
this is addressed, the vocal minority can still play the heart-strings of the
compassionate majority to ensure that nothing will ever be good enough to meet
their demands.
And it would not need a major readjustment. Even the high standard of requiring a 2/3rd
majority could still be required to ensure overwhelming support.
·
If the requirement had been for a simple majority in
each House and a 2/3rd majority overall – we would now have women
Bishops.
·
If the requirement had been for 2/3rd of
dioceses to vote for women Bishops and then a simple majority in General Synod
to ratify the will of dioceses - we would now have women Bishops.
·
If the requirement was for a 2/3rd majority
in 2/3rds of the Houses of General Synod and a simple majority in
the third House - we would now have women Bishops.
The women Bishops vote in General Synod laid bare
the structural flaws in our version of democracy – a version which allows the
minority to dictate to the majority as an anchor against change.
It is time for change – it is time to lower the impossible
hurdles to the point where the church can move forward and try to rebuild its
shattered credibility – and that change must start in the structures of General
Synod.
