In the fallout [over the recent vote on Women Bishops], the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, in an interview with this newspaper, urged Justin Welby, the incoming archbishop, to push through reform regardless, and there were mutterings in the Shadow Cabinet of changing the law so the Church would no longer be immune to charges of sexual discrimination. Hitchiner, though, \u201cshocked\u201d\u009d and \u201csad\u201d\u009d as she was, and critical as she is of the overrepresentation in General Synod of people \u201con the more conservative end of the spectrum\u201d\u009d, and the disproportionate amount of airtime they were given \u201cto go back to discussions that were being held 20 years ago about why they felt uncomfortable with the idea of women priests\u201d\u009d, says that she is wary of tampering with the system: \u201cI think we stuck to the system and nothing went wrong. That\u2019s the most frustrating thing. I would be happier in the long run without changing the system, without making special arrangements.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
The appointment of women bishops is, she thinks, an \u201cunstoppable train. It is bound to happen.\u201d\u009d She feels torn, she says. \u201cAs a feminist I believe that women shouldn\u2019t be held back from anything. Women have worked very hard, whether they\u2019re religious or not, to make sure that is the case. But having said that, I also think that if the Church is dictated to by society or the State it ceases to be a church.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n