Ruth Gledhill: Women bishops fail in Wales

April 02, 2008

The Church in Wales has a few minutes ago voted not to consecrate women bishops. The motion, proposed by Archbishop Dr Barry Morgan, fell by three votes. In the laity it was 52-19, in the clergy 27-18. It fell after the amendments that would have offered alternative oversight for the clergy opponents also failed. Canon Mary Stallard, chaplain to the bishop of St Asaph and pictured on the far right of this picture, said: 'The moment will come back. We are very disappointed. It is not totally unexpected. But we are looking forward to bringing it back. This issue will not be ignored.'

The bill, unanimous in the bishops, needed a two-thirds majority in all three houses. the rest