There will be an attempt today by some very distinguished people - the present occupant of the throne of St Augustine and his nominated successor included, it seems - to spin the measure before the General Synod of the Church of England as a necessary compromise both for supporters and opponents of women bishops.
In a sense, of course, they are correct; yet to take a simple analogy (as there seem to be those out there who cannot grasp anything more complex) the "compromise" resembles rather the situation of two unfinished building projects, the necessary materials having run out. For the large house, there may be one or two missing window panes; for the other, smaller, building there is no roof and no walls to support one... For those who need to live in these places, one group will have to endure the nagging inconvenience of a slight draught, the others will simply freeze to death.
And for many in the 'large house' even this compromise is too much (as some of the comments in this Guardian article suggest http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/19/church-of-england-female-bishops )
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't give great confidence that if 'the measure' is carried the 'small building,'such as it is, will left standing for long ...