A Message from Bishop Edwin Barnes
President of The Church Union

On St Valentine's day this year catholic clergy and laity met to consider the aftermath of the February Synod which moved the church closer to accepting women in the episcopate. It was a remarkable Assembly. It was far larger in numbers than any previous Assembly of Forward in Faith that I can remember, and it was more participatory than any before it.

Of all the speeches from the floor, the one which seemed to me quite momentous was by Bishop John Hind. For a Diocesan Bishop to be ready to speak so clearly and unequivocally about our situation was hugely refreshing. Nothing I could say would match his clarity and eloquence and with his permission I reprint part of it here.

"It seems to me that the participation that conscientious catholics have if they are going to have any participation at all in the process of the Revision Committee is radically to subvert it - to my mind in a rather curious way. I think the only honest thing for a church to do that wants to have women bishops is to have women bishops to whose ministry there are no limitations whatsoever, and to face the inevitable ecclesial division which must follow from that. ….

"I have certain clear theological convictions primarily about the nature of the church and its integrity, and of course who may be ordained and the integrity of the apostolic ministry is central to that. That is the issue which needs to be preserved within the Church of England if the Church of England wishes to remain in any touch at all with its past. So it seems to me that we really are needing to say to the Revision Committee, 'The Church of England will be dividing into two parts'.

Instead of talking about 'provision', and particularly financial provision, we need to be talking about the allocation of resources. We are a minority, but we are a substantial and significant minority, and we need to be enabled - yes, I'm very concerned indeed for clergy, particularly younger clergy, and licensed full time lay workers, but I'm even more concerned for the faithful in the pews who have served their parish churches so lovingly for so long and are in danger of being driven out of them. And what I hope we can do is have an equable, peaceful and charitable discussion with the majority of the Church of England about how both parts can be allowed to flourish. This ought to be truly liberating for us."

The previous Bishop of Chichester was our Church Union President for many years. It is a great encouragement to me that his successor is also a man ready and willing to give a lead to the catholic wing of our church at this difficult time.