Source: Yahoo! News
Wire Service: Reuters
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/050216/325/fcmli.html
On February 16, 2005 Reuters reported, "The Church of England has taken the first tentative steps towards ordaining women bishops but the historic move could still take up to four years. Women breaking through the 'stained glass ceiling' may prove to be as divisive as the ordination of gay priests, so the church is adopting a very cautious approach. After a day of impassioned debate at the General Synod, the church's parliament decided to return to the issue at its next meeting in July, which could set the legal process in motion... The Anglican Church is already facing schism over the bitterly disputed ordination of openly gay American Bishop Gene Robinson in New Hampshire. The thorny issue of women bishops could prove equally contentious as the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams fights to keep all the faithful in the fold."