Church of England bans lobby groups from interfering over women bishops

Ruth Gledhill
05 June 2015

Lobby groups and special interest organisations in the Church of England will be barred from complaining about clergy or bishops over the new rules on male and female bishops.

With three women bishops appointed including one diocesan, Ven Rachel Treweek, soon to take up her appointment as Bishop of Gloucester, congregations that oppose women's ordination can on grounds of theological conviction seek oversight from a male bishop.

An independent reviewer, Sir Philip Mawer, has already been appointed to resolve disputes over the process and in a consultation published this week he makes it clear that it is the concerns of individual parishes and not church lobby groups or individuals that will be his main concern.

"In considering a grievance, it is the concerns of the parish as expressed by the PCC, not the concerns of any third party, which will be paramount," he writes. And while parochial church councils are allowed to consult groups for advice, "interested third parties should not seek to interpose their views on those of the PCC," Sir Philip writes... the rest

UK Anglicans are in serious decline, say researchers The decline in the proportion of British people who identify as Anglican has accelerated in the past decade, new analysis from NatCen statisticians suggests.

The proportion who say they are Anglican in the British Social Attitudes survey has fallen from 40 per cent in 1983 to 17 per cent in 2014. In the past decade, the proportion has fallen by two-fifths: from 28 per cent in 2004.

The researchers say that the survey results suggest that the number of Anglicans has fallen by as many as 4.5 million over the past ten years, from about 13 million to 8.5 million.

The biggest group remains those who say they have no religion: 49 per cent, up from 43 per cent in 2004 and 31 per cent in 1983.

Other Christian denominations have remained stable over the past 30 years. Roman Catholics make up eight per cent of the sample, down from ten per cent in 1983. The "Other Christian" sector has remained static at 17 per cent...

Former Episcopal Bishop Trial Postponed Until September  Heather Cook, the former episcopal bishop accused of driving under the influence and killing a local cyclist in December was set to face a judge Thursday morning, but instead the trial was postponed...