While the Catholic church remains a holdout on ordaining women in ministry—and some mainline Christian denominations still frown on the idea of female leaders in the church—the Church of England is celebrating 20 years of its decision to sanction women to the priesthood.
But where are the female bishops? That’s what Archbishop Desmond Tutu wants to know.
Tutu sent a note to his “sisters” and a pat on the back to the Church of England, calling ordination a “splendid decision.” However, he took a jab at the Church’s policy of excluding women from standing in the office of bishop.
“As with our own Anglican Church of Southern Africa, amazing enrichment has come to your Church from this, yes, epoch making decision,” he wrote. “We realized how much we had denied ourselves until 1992. Now we have the first two Anglican women bishops on the African continent and we are asking ourselves why we were so stupid for so long.
“In your own Church, women have already demonstrated your splendid giftedness; I know without looking it all up on Google that women are the Deans of at least three Cathedrals: Salisbury, York and Norwich. Isn’t that just something? And there is a noteworthy clutch of women canons and isn’t the Archbishop of Canterbury’s chaplain a woman?”
Tutu ended the note with a “yippee to you all” and said he hopes he can join in the consecration of the first Church of England woman bishop.
Do you think women should be bishops? Sound off in the comment box below.
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