Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Ordination of Clergy

Thursday 20 July 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Church of England is committed to equal ministry opportunities regardless of gender.
  • A new body was established to review the implementation of the five guiding principles.
  • Parliamentarians warn Church of England about potential actions regarding Equality Act exemptions.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Diana R. Johnson Lab Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham
Religion & Faith
Context

The Church of England has faced a significant issue regarding the ordination of women as diocesan bishops, leading to concerns about equality within religious leadership.

Question

If the Church of England will make an assessment of the potential merits of refusing to ordain clergy who do not personally recognise the ordination of women as diocesan bishops.

Answer from Andrew Selous

The Church of England is fully committed to all orders of ministry being open equally to all without reference to gender. The Church is also committed to ensuring that those who cannot in good conscience receive the ministry of women priests or bishops are able to flourish; the five guiding principles of the House of Bishops are the basis for this mutual flourishing and all candidates for ordination have to assent to them.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question asked about assessing merits of refusing to ordain clergy who reject female bishops, but the answer did not address this directly. It instead focused on commitment to equal opportunities without mentioning specific assessment criteria or decisions.

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Q2 Diana R. Johnson Lab Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham
Religion & Faith
Context

The Church of England has faced criticism for continuing to appoint clergy who have not accepted the ordination of women, despite a long history since the first woman priest was ordained.

Question

It is now 29 years since we had the first woman priest and nine years since the first female bishop was appointed in our established Church of England. Given that, is it really appropriate for the Church of England to continue appointing clergy who have not accepted and will never personally accept the ordination of women?

Answer from Andrew Selous

I can tell the right hon. Lady that a new body was established last year to review how the five guiding principles are being understood, implemented and received in the Church and that it has a balanced membership of bishops, clergy and laity who reflect all views on these matters.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question asked about appropriateness of continuing to appoint clergy rejecting female bishops, but answer did not address this directly. It instead focused on recent establishment of a review body without specifics about current appointments or future policies.

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Q3 Peter Bottomley Con
Women & Equalities Religion & Faith
Context

WATCH, a group supporting full equality for women in the Church of England, has raised concerns about temporary exemptions from the Equality Act 2010. MPs are considering meetings with the Church Commissioners to address these issues.

Question

I speak as a supporter of WATCH, the Women and the Church group. The Church Commissioners should understand that either the Church of England gets rid of what ought to have been temporary exemptions from the Equality Act 2010 or Parliament will do that for it. Does my hon. Friend understand that other MPs who are interested in full equality for women would like to meet the Church Commissioners before we consider what other action we might take?

Answer from Andrew Selous

I have very clearly heard what my hon. Friend the Father of the House and indeed the very respected Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Dame Diana Johnson) have just said. The Church will have heard that as well and we are of course available for meetings at any time.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question asked about willingness to meet with the Church Commissioners, but the answer did not confirm or deny meeting arrangements specifically. It acknowledged the requests without providing a concrete commitment.

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