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Church Of England Reconsiders Accepting Conservative Clergy

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Joshua Gill Religion Reporter
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The Church of England (CofE) is questioning whether or not to continue appointing conservative bishops that object to ordaining women, according to a review published Friday.

The report concluded a church-commissioned investigation into the circumstances surrounding Phillip North’s decision to decline the position of Bishop of Sheffield. North declined the position after a meeting with women clergy from Sheffield which he characterized as “aggressive” and fearful, according to Christian Today. Sir Phillip Mawer, Independent Reviewer of the CofE and author of the report, wrote that the debate between conservative and liberal clergy members needed to be readdressed.

“At the end of the day of the day, the choice facing the Church is a simple one … whether to continue wrestling with the issues I have identified, for the sake of the Gospel, or whether to abandon the Settlement,” Mawer wrote.

The settlement, known as the 2014 House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests, attempted to settle the debate over women clergy. The settlement mandated that women clergy would remain in the CofE and that the church would remain “committed to ensuring that those who cannot receive the ministry of women priests or bishops are able to flourish.”

The report, however, detailed how North’s appointment to the position of bishop was met with harsh confrontation, rather than dialogue conducive to flourishing.

“What he [North] had hoped would be the beginning of a dialogue became, however, in his view ‘a savaging.’ With a few exceptions, many of those who contributed spoke forcefully against his nomination. Contributions were speeches rather than an exploration of how to understand each other and work together,” Mawer wrote.

Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church in Oxford, levied criticism at North shortly after his appointment to the position of bishop, questioning his fitness for the role given his objection to women clergy and recommending that he “decline his nomination.”

Mawer told Christian Today that despite the 2014 settlement’s promise that the church would ensure the flourishing of conservative clergy, the questions Percy raised could not be ignored.

“Martyn Percy and others have raised fundamental issues which go to the heart of the settlement. Does that mean the settlement is up for questioning again? In my view, no. The Church has signed up to it and in fact it works. There are many more examples of success than failures,” Mawer said.

The issue, according to Mawer’s report, is that the church has not successfully implemented the settlement across the CofE general synod.

“Since the passage of the 2014 Measure, there has been no nationally coordinated and resourced attempt, on a sustained basis, to convey the message of and achieve buy-in to the terms of the Settlement,” Mawer wrote.

The report recommended that the synod create a group of bishops to help facilitate dialogue between liberal and conservative clergy and to exemplify implementation of the settlement’s goals of reconciliation.

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