Women Who Oppose Women

Women who oppose women bishops, that is, in the Church of England:

The Church of England is, in its own confounding and impenetrable way, preparing to welcome women as bishops. At the meeting of its general assembly earlier this month there was much debate about what should be done for Anglicans who do not accept female clergy ahead of a vote this summer. Among these traditionalists are several women.

One of them is Emma Forward, a teacher in her 20s who was elected to the Church of England’s lawmaking body at 21, making her the youngest of its 485 members. One of almost 9,000 women who signed a petition in 2008 objecting to the ordination of women as bishops, she says many other female members of Synod share her views.

“We represent thousands in the Church across the country. I think that women who oppose haven’t been in the spotlight as we are from ordinary walks of life who aren’t known to the media. Perhaps some press coverage finds it easier to portray this as a male versus female issue, and we complicate the issue for those who only see it in those terms.”

Traditionalists such as Forward want to serve under a male bishop because they believe the Church of England has no right to introduce women bishops. They may not have a majority, certainly not expected to be enough to stop the legislation to allow women bishops getting final approval in July, but they cite Jesus’s choice of only male apostles and the fact that other, major Christian denominations have not introduced female clergy as evidence to support their beliefs.

Read the rest: The women who oppose female bishops | World news | The Guardian.

I’ll admit, I don’t get it. But then again, the catholic church is full of women, and there’s a gender-based caste system in that church, too.