Church of England moves to heal row over women bishops

By Peter Griffiths

LONDON (Reuters) - The Church of England could restrict the powers of some women bishops under a plan designed to end a rift between traditionalists who want to keep the all-male senior clergy, and liberals demanding equality.

The proposal has reignited the long-running debate over the "stained glass ceiling" that stops women from taking the most senior roles in the church.

Along with homosexual bishops and same-sex marriages, the ordination of women is among the most divisive issues facing the Anglican Communion, which has 77 million members worldwide.

While Anglicans in the United States, Canada and Australia already have women bishops, conservatives in many other parts of the Communion still strongly oppose them. They say there is nothing in the Bible or church history to support women bishops.

Liberals, who argue that women should be treated equally, said the latest proposals to allow women bishops, albeit with reduced powers in some areas, risked creating a two-tier church.

The Church of England body reviewing the law on women bishops, the Revision Committee, has voted to change the rules to remove certain powers from female bishops in dioceses where they face opposition from traditionalists.

Specially appointed male bishops would assume those powers and the new system would be written into British law, the committee said in a statement on Thursday.

"Where there are parishes who don't recognise women bishops and want to look to another bishop, that diocesan bishop's duties and responsibilities to those parishes would be reduced automatically," a Church of England spokesman said. "Those duties would pass to this other bishop."