The Church of England published a plan today (May 24, 2013) to approve the ordination of women bishops by 2015, a widely supported reform it just missed passing last November after two decades of divisive debate, the Reuters website reports.
The new plan -- outlined in a document signed by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Archbishop of York John Sentamu -- would be presented to the General Synod (the Church legislature) in July to begin the approval process.
The proposal would make allowances for traditionalists who oppose women clergy -- a minority that blocked the reform at the last Synod meeting -- but each diocese will be required to have a bishop willing to ordain women to the priesthood.
The issue pits reformers -- keen to project a more modern and egalitarian image of the church as it struggles with falling congregations in many increasingly secular countries -- against a minority of conservatives who see the change as contradicting the Bible.
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