Anglicans appoint first woman bishop
Friday Apr 11 16:07 AEST
One of Australia's first Anglican women priests has shattered the stained glass ceiling to become the nation's first woman bishop.
Perth Archdeacon Kay Goldsworthy, 51, was named as an assistant bishop, to be consecrated on May 22.
But if she visits Sydney, which remains opposed to women bishops, she will only be formally acknowledged as a deacon and unable to exercise her ministry as a priest or bishop.
The unanimous decision to appoint Archdeacon Goldsworthy was made by Perth Archbishop Roger Herft and his diocesan council Thursday night following an agreement reached this week between Australia's Anglican bishops on a protocol to handle opponents of women bishops.
Under the protocol, parishes that cannot in good conscience recognise the ministry of a woman bishop will be offered the services of a male bishop.
The church's peak legal body last year affirmed it would not breach church law to appoint a woman bishop.
Bishop-elect Goldsworthy was in the first group of women to be ordained a priest in Perth in 1992.
The mother of twin boys, who has been married to husband Ben for 20 years, said she had been invited to think and pray about being a bishop by Archbishop Herft several weeks ago.
She said it was unlikely she would feel slighted by parishes not accepting her ministry, having first felt a call to serve the church at the age of 16 and faced criticism over the years.
"I've travelled a path where there's always been someone or some group that doesn't agree or doesn't want to receive your ministry, so I won't feel slighted," she told AAP.
"I'm always sorry that we have such differences and I wish it were different, but ... I want everybody to see that the ministry of women is to be valued and celebrated."
Bishop-elect Goldsworthy said she did not believe the move would split the church in Australia.
"Women were first made bishops over 20 years ago in the (worldwide) Anglican Communion and the communion has continued to work," she said.
She said parishes in Perth that did not accept her ministry would be able to draw on the services of two other male assistant bishops and the archbishop.
Archbishop Herft said Bishop-elect Goldsworthy was an outstanding candidate.
He said her previous experience as a school chaplain, canon of the cathedral, parish priest and archdeacon meant she was "one of the best qualified priests to take on this role".
Women bishops are currently serving in the United States, Canada and New Zealand.
"Australia has been a while catching up, but our time has come and I know that the great majority of Australian Anglicans warmly welcome this day," Archbishop Herft said.
Bishop of South Sydney Robert Forsyth said he expected there would be at least two women bishops - in Perth and Melbourne - by the end of the year, which would create "difficulties" in keeping the church together.
"There's no question it does fracture our unity because we are not all agreed," he told AAP.
He confirmed Sydney's policy not to accept the ministry of visiting women bishops.
"She would be welcomed as a person, but she would not be able to exercise priestly or episcopal ministry," he said.
Women's ordination campaigner, the Reverend Val Graydon, said having a woman bishop would provide "a different dynamic to decision-making and fresh insights for the future of the Anglican Church in Australia".
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=278647
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