Female bishop law will cause discrimination, warns cleric

A female London cleric has warned that changes to Church of England law would enshrine discrimination against women.

Rachel Treweek, the Archdeacon of Hackney, claims draft legislation intended to boost the cause of women inside the Church would instead cause more unfairness.

The General Synod is expected to pass landmark legislation this weekend that would allow female bishops. However, a last-minute amendment inserted by the conservative House of Bishops has caused female clergy to write to members of the General Synod to express their “deep dismay” because they believe it would give parishes the power to discriminate against women.

Ms Treweek told the Guardian she could not now vote for laws she had spent years fighting for. “It would be very easy to say, ‘Oh, let’s all just vote in favour and get this through.’… I want to get it right now. I don’t want to get something in legislation which means we’re having to come back to this.”