Channel 4 secularises Synod's women bishops debate

Katie Razzell reports the facts

I'm looking around the web for comment about women bishops. Most I've seen is very harsh and vituperative. Channel 4 News has a bit on it. They're not noted for their balanced approach on the subject. This article uses such talk as "where else would men and women - yes, women, many of them - be arguing that it is OK, in the modern world, to allow a situation where women can't be in the top jobs?". The secular world derides religion, has little or no respect and promotes falsehoods, no doubt by accident.

One such falsehood is this. " A minority of 944 out of 12,792 parishes in the Church of England currently refuse to have a woman vicar". Most of the 944 are urban/surburban single church parishes. The 12,792 are made up of a variety of parishes, some coming together under one priest. As many as 16 rural parishes can make up one active team parish. So the truth is more like 30% of the Church of England membership (not all in those 944 parishes) are in favour of traditional worship and order. Also note the use of the word "refuse". Telling?

Channel 4 then makes a monumental blunder by suggesting that the Measure "has since been reworked to say: "Any parish can request a male priest or bishop on the grounds of their theological conviction and these convictions must be respected." And that this "final wording has been given the approval of the campaign group Women and the Church and the legislation has been backed by 42 out of the 44 Church of England dioceses."

If that was the case today it might be a lot better but that "critical wording" has been altered because the very same Women and the Church group upset themselves and demanded that the Archbishops tweaked it again. It is the so-called Appleby amendment that is before Synod today. Watered down and showing less respect!

Anybody consulting Channel 4 News would definitely get the wrong impression. That's the trouble with today's secular media commenting on things they don't fully understand or appreciate.

Posted in: Channel 4,Church of England,Forward In Faith,General Synod,women bishops