The Church of England is to rush through legislation to consecrate women bishops after the defeat last week at the General Synod in London.
\nThe Archbishops\u2019 Council, the executive of the established Church, met behind closed doors this week to discuss the crisis. In a statement at the end of the two-day meeting, it said: \u201cMany council members commented on the deep degree of sadness and shock that they had felt as a result of the vote and also of the need to affirm all women serving the Church \u201d\u201d both lay and ordained \u201d\u201d in their ministries.
\n\u201cThe council decided that a process to admit women to the episcopate needed to be restarted at the next meeting of the General Synod in July 2013 … The council therefore recommended that the House of Bishops, during its meeting in a fortnight\u2019s time, put in place a clear process for discussions in the new year with a view to bringing legislative proposals before the synod in July.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n