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| Female bishops: house of laity chairman faces no-confidence vote | |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| The chairman of the Church of England's house of laity will face a vote of no confidence on Friday. | |
| A bid to oust Dr Philip Giddings from his post was launched after women failed to win the right to become bishops at the General Synod in November – a measure he had spoken against. | A bid to oust Dr Philip Giddings from his post was launched after women failed to win the right to become bishops at the General Synod in November – a measure he had spoken against. |
| The legislation failed in the laity, one of three houses that make up the synod, by just six votes. | |
| Canon Stephen Barney will move the vote of no confidence in Giddings during the meeting in Church House, Westminster. | |
| Setting out his reasons, Barney cited the speech Giddings made before the crucial vote. He said the speech had convinced many undecided members of the House of Laity to vote against the legislation to introduce female bishops. | Setting out his reasons, Barney cited the speech Giddings made before the crucial vote. He said the speech had convinced many undecided members of the House of Laity to vote against the legislation to introduce female bishops. |
| But it did not represent the views of the house of bishops as a whole and also directly contradicted the views of the incoming archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, he said. | |
| During the speech, Giddings had told members of the House: "I wish to say that it is unwise to go ahead with a measure dealing with fundamental matters of ministry and doctrine with a significant minority of our church unable to accept its provisions. I do believe that we can find a better way." | During the speech, Giddings had told members of the House: "I wish to say that it is unwise to go ahead with a measure dealing with fundamental matters of ministry and doctrine with a significant minority of our church unable to accept its provisions. I do believe that we can find a better way." |
| Barney said: "I believe the speech was therefore a significant contributor to the reputational damage the Church of England is already suffering at the hands of the press, which is also manifest in the comments of the prime minister, the emerging reports of withdrawal of financial support, the angry reaction of church members and the disbelief and ridicule expressed by many of our secular friends, all of which I believe will damage the mission of our church." | Barney said: "I believe the speech was therefore a significant contributor to the reputational damage the Church of England is already suffering at the hands of the press, which is also manifest in the comments of the prime minister, the emerging reports of withdrawal of financial support, the angry reaction of church members and the disbelief and ridicule expressed by many of our secular friends, all of which I believe will damage the mission of our church." |
| He said he expected the leader of the group to demonstrate "wise and good judgment" – but that this had not happened. | He said he expected the leader of the group to demonstrate "wise and good judgment" – but that this had not happened. |