The Philip North Sheffield fiasco — and
the question that simply wasn’t asked
15 September 2017
THE
botched nomination of the Rt Revd Philip North to the see of Sheffield in
January this year stemmed from one simple omission, a review has found. It did
not occur to anyone to ask whether the diocese would accept a diocesan bishop
who did not ordain women as priests.
As
a consequence, Bishop North, a traditionalist, mistakenly believed he had the
support of the diocese. Five bruising weeks after his nomination was announced
by Downing Street, he withdrew,
stating: “The highly individualised nature of the
attacks on me have been extremely hard to bear.”
A
fortnight after Bishop North’s withdrawal, the Archbishops of Canterbury and
York asked Sir Philip Mawer, a former secretary-general of the General Synod,
to investigate what had happened and make recommendations for the future. His
review was published on Friday morning.
Sir
Philip is the independent reviewer appointed to ensure that those who cannot
accept the ministry of women bishops and priests continue to flourish within
the Church of England according to the 2014 Settlement, which confirmed Five
Guiding Principles — (in brief) that all orders of ministry are open to all,
regardless of gender; that all who minister in the C of E must accept that this
is the case; that this move is to be seen in relation to other Churches, some
of which allow only men to be ordained; that those who cannot accept women’s
ministry remain within the spectrum of Anglican teaching; and that this
minority will be given pastoral and sacramental provision to enable them to
contribute to mutual flourishing across the whole Church of England.
As
a consequence of Bishop North’s withdrawal, traditionalists have questioned the
Church’s commitment to the 2014 settlement and these principles, asking whether
a traditionalist can ever again become a diocesan bishop.
Sir
Philip said on Friday that it would be premature to reach this conclusion. It
is still possible, he believes, for a traditionalist, “as
for women bishops, to be appointed to any position”. But the Church
needed to make up its mind whether it would live within the terms of the 2014
settlement, “which it signed up to”, or indicate that it was going to depart
from it.
If the
Church is to retain credibility with traditionalists, it needs to stick to the
settlement, Sir Philip believes, but equally traditionalists “need to behave in
ways that encourage the majority to support the settlement”.
One of
Sir Philip’s key recommendations is that the House of Bishops needs to do more
work on the theology that underpins the Five Guiding Principles, and on the
pastoral implications of the settlement.
Sir
Philip, having heard from 76 people in 40 meetings, dissects the process that
led to Bishop North’s nomination and his subsequent withdrawal. In particular,
he notes that the vacancy-in-see committee, which drew up a profile of the
person desired by the diocese, did not discuss the possibility of either a
woman bishop or someone who did not ordain women.
“It
appears from all the evidence given to me that the assumption of most of those
involved was that . . . the diocese was not yet ready for the appointment of a
woman diocesan. The possibility of a non-ordaining bishop being appointed
simply did not cross the mind of most people.”
Later in
his report he states that this question is now put routinely. “Although some represented to me that posing the question
will simply invite most, if not all, dioceses to say that they want a diocesan
bishop who will ordain women, I cannot see that ignoring the relevance of the
question will help anybody.”
This
omission in Sheffield was only the first of the many factors that ended with
Bishop North’s withdrawal.
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Reverend Paul Williamson interrupts the consecration Church of England's
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Bishop North misled
At the
second meeting of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), at which the
candidates for Sheffield (three men and one woman) were interviewed, two CNC
members representing the diocese assured Bishop North that his nomination would
be welcomed. None the less, when offered the post, he took two weeks to agree,
during which time, Sir Philip says, the confidentiality of the offer hindered
him from consulting widely.
Failures of the CNC
There is
currently a general review of the workings of the CNC taking place under
Professor Oliver O’Donovan, and Sir Philip defers to this in his report. He
does, though, report several concerns about the membership of the CNC (there
was no ordained woman among the Sheffield diocesan reps), the relative weight
given to different submissions, the voting method (in which abstentions
essentially count as votes against a candidate), and the degree of
confidentiality after a nomination has been agreed. He also reports, however,
that the majority of the Sheffield CNC members were satisfied that correct
procedures had been followed.
 |
Rev
Stephen Holland protesting against the consecration of women bishops outside
Canterbury Cathedral
|
Poor preparation
Sir
Philip points out that this would have been the first instance since 1994 that
a diocesan who ordained women priests would be followed by a non-ordaining one.
He writes of “the failure of all concerned to anticipate the likely reaction in
the diocese of Sheffield to the news of Bishop North's nomination and to make
preparations accordingly”. No support was offered to Bishop North beyond that
regularly offered to new bishops — even though, in 2012, he had withdrawn his acceptance of the suffragan bishopric of
Whitby after objections to his stance on women. (He was subsequently appointed
Bishop of Burnley.)
Non-communication
The
announcement of Bishop North’s nomination made no mention of his views of
women’s ordination. None the less, they were not secret, and Bishop North asked
for a meeting with the ordained women of the diocese, which took place on 7
February in Doncaster Minster. After an initial statement, he attempted to answer
questions, but later described the meeting as “a savaging”. After the meeting,
only the initial statement was circulated. Later, when criticism to the nomination
was growing, Bishop North went on a retreat, and could be reached only through
intermediaries, even by those, such as the Bishop of Doncaster, the Rt Revd
Peter Burrows, who were attempting to fight the fires in the diocese.
Martyn Percy
On
24 February, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, the Very Revd Professor Martyn
Percy, published an article on the Modern Church website taking issue with the
position of The Society of St Wilfrid and St Hilda (hereafter The Society), a
traditionalist body of which Bishop North is a member.
He
wrote: “Women are not recognised as ‘real’ priests or bishops; men ordained by
female bishops are therefore not to be regarded as ‘proper’ priests either.”
Consequently, Bishop North had a choice: he could either leave The Society;
“Or, he can fully own the official position of The Society, in which case his
clergy are in a most difficult place, with a diocesan bishop effectively not
recognising many of their sacramental ministries.” A report in The Guardian the same day
gave this argument national exposure.
Sir
Philip says that, in the view of those in the diocese who were attempting to
manage the divided views, the appearance of the article was the equivalent of
“pouring petrol on the flames”.
He
writes: “Up to the publication of the article, there were signs that the
diocese was thinking its way through the implications of the nomination and
that it could proceed. After the appearance of the article there was, in their
view, no such chance.”
Speaking
on Friday, Sir Philip said that part of the problem was that Professor Percy’s
intervention landed in a vacuum: “women in the diocese were asking themselves
what would be the pastoral and practical implications of the nomination, and
there was no authoritative source to which they could turn.”
 |
Philip
North has withdrawn from the role of Bishop of Sheffield
|
A misreading of Bishop North’s
view
Bishop North declined to correct the assumption
that he agreed with all the views expressed by The Society, believing that
further elucidation would serve only to focus more attention on this aspect of
his ministry.
A key passage in Sir Philip’s review is a direct
quotation from Bishop North about his position:
“The basis of my own objection to women’s
ordination is the authority and unity of the Church. In my view the Church of
England is part of the one holy catholic Church of God and that imposes limits
on what it can and can’t decide unilaterally.
“Extending the historic threefold order
to women constitutes a major doctrinal change and thus, whilst it may be the
way the Spirit is calling the Church, it is an action that the Church of
England does not have the unilateral authority to undertake. Thus it is one
that undermines the unity of the Church.
“This means that I feel the need to stand
aside from it and thus in conscience cannot ordain women to the priesthood.
“However the nature of my objection does
not cause me to doubt the validity of those orders that the Church of England
bestows on female candidates and I hold their ministry to be transformative and
grace-filled. I also accept that there are two legitimate, theological views in
the Church on this and so am very happy to sponsor female candidates for
ordination.
“That is where I stand. However, there
are many traditionalists who take a different view from me and look at validity
in different ways. I serve them and am happy to do so and would fight very hard
to preserve not just their place in the Church but their right to be appointed
to senior office within it.”
Other points made by Sir Philip
- Sheffield diocese, under Dr Steven Croft, had
done more than most to explain and propound the Five Guiding Principles. A
survey by the present secretary-general discovered that 23 dioceses had
done no more than write to clergy and discuss the settlement at the
diocesan synod. Some had not even done this. No material has been made
available by any of the National Church Institutions.
- There was considered criticism of one central
member of the CNC, Jane Patterson, for not withdrawing from the Commission
for this nomination, given her membership of a church in central
Sheffield. The effect of her remaining on the CNC was to give the diocese,
in effect, a seventh representative, and a conservative Evangelical one at
that (though, had she withdrawn, the convention at present is to replace
like with like).
- Sir Philip says that women priests in the
diocese of Sheffield felt that, while attention had been paid to the
flourishing of those opposed to their ordination, little had been given to
theirs. Questions about how a non-ordaining bishop would relate to them,
particularly at a celebration of the eucharist, went largely unanswered.
Sir Philip says that the responsibility for this silence is shared by
Bishop North and the House of Bishops.
Sir
Philip was asked what he would say if he had Professor Percy and Bishop North
in the same room. “I’d say: ‘Far more unites you than divides you — a lot more,
and the contribution that each of you makes to the Church of England is part of
the richness of the Church.
“‘I
realise that acceptance [of the other’s view] is another step forward, but
greater understanding of where the other is coming from — some real dialogue in
which people listen as well as speak — is what is required throughout the
Church.’”
On
Friday, Bishop North issued a statement thanking Sir Philip “for the time he
has taken to compile this wide-ranging and comprehensive report, and for the
sensitive way he has tackled a hugely complex task.
“This
is an important piece of work for the whole Church and deserves careful and
prayerful study; and I hope that people will reflect closely on its findings in
the coming days and weeks. Instant reactions are usually unhelpful and I do not
propose to add anything further at this time.
“I
will be praying for Bishop Peter Wilcox as he prepares for his installation
later this month at Sheffield Cathedral; and for the future flourishing of the
diocese of Sheffield as it seeks to share God’s message of hope and forgiveness
with the people of that wonderful part of Yorkshire.”
Professor Percy
also welcomed the report, and praised its measured tones — and also that
“the report makes it clear that there is further theological work to be done.”
He remarked, though: “The report cannot resolve the fundamental conundrum at
the heart of the matter: if a bishop can’t receive their own clergy’s
sacramental ministry as unequivocally efficacious, you can’t expect that same
episcopacy to be received without significant questions and some resistance.”
Sir
Philip concludes his review: “The story of what happened in respect of the Sheffield
nomination is not populated by villains but by people who were simply seeking
to do their best according to their own understanding of their responsibilities
and in the light of their Christian conviction.”
Sir
Philip urged people to read the whole of his report, which comes with appendices.
 |
Things Joyce Meyer Never
Said: “Turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 2:12”
|
New Bishop of
Sheffield explains opposition to ordaining women into priesthood
The
new Bishop of Sheffield has sought to explain his controversial views on
opposing the ordination of women into the priesthood.
Sunday, 5th
February 2017, 16:03 pm
Updated Sunday,
5th February 2017, 16:11 pm
The Rt Rev Philip North will take over as the
city's bishop in June following a two-year stint as Bishop of Burnley.
The outspoken 50-year-old has won praise for
championing people who are economically and socially marginalised and he said
he wanted to engage with poorer communities in Sheffield.
However, he has also drawn criticism from the Watch
(Women and the Church) group over his opposition to women being ordained as
priests.
He said he would ordain a woman as a deacon - which
is considered to be less highly ranked than a priest - but not into the
priesthood.
In a radio interview this afternoon, he said: "I am what you call a traditionalist so for reasons
around the unity of the church it is a development that I struggle with
personally."
But he added: "This week I am going to meet
the women priests in the Diocese of Sheffield. I have worked incredible closely
with women clergy throughout my ministry.
"I am absolutely committed 'A' to being a
bishop to everyone and not just for one group, and 'B' to developing and
enhancing the ministry with women.
"The Church of England is committed to
something called 'mutual flourishing', which is where you work together and
look out for each other and we want to see each other flourish.
"I will strengthen women's ministry in
Sheffield."
He added that he will also focus on engaging poorer
communities with the church.
He said: "I think we have problems in
fostering leaders from working class communities and from non-white
communities.
"I think there can be a tendency in sections
of the centre of the church to be a bit white executive middle class.
"That said, we go on being present in the
poorest areas.
"One thing I am going to be passionate about
in the Diocese of Sheffield is building up and developing our presence in those
poorest communities."
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Jesus’ death on the cross,
as described in the New Testament, has become one of the most famous events.
But what happened to the 12 disciples who were his closest followers? There are
many sources, including the New Testament itself, apocryphal texts, early
Christian historians, legends and lore.
2 Now the names of the
twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew
his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3 Philip, and Bartholomew;
Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus,
whose surname was Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Canaanite, and
Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
- Matthew 10:2-4 (KJV)
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