There has been a mixed reaction from church leaders to Gordon Brown’s plan to return the power to select Bishops completely to the Church of England. If the plan is executed it will be the first time since the reign of Henry VIII that the Church has had the power to choose it’s own bishops, reports the Sunday Times.
Currently the Crown Nominations Commission selects two candidates, one of whom is then chosen by the Prime Minister. The chosen name is passed on to the monarch who then gives final approval.Should the Chancellor of the Exchequer ever become Prime Minister his proposed move would be a significant departure from the actions of previous Prime Ministers who on occasion have become involved greatly with the selection of bishops and archbishops.
For example it is believed that Tony Blair rejected both candidates for the diocese of Liverpool. The Right Reverend James Jones who was eventually chosen was given the label “Blair’s Bishop”.
Margaret Thatcher is also said to have used her powers to affect the choosing Bishops. It was Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan who introduced the current system, arguing that it was part of the duty of the Prime Minister to help the Queen oversee the choosing of bishops.
Callaghan also pointed out that as bishops also sat in the House of Lords as peers, the Prime Minister as controller of access to the peerage should keep this function.
It is believed that Gordon Brown regards the Prime Minister’s role in choosing bishops as an anachronism, although the Queen would retain her role as Supreme Governor of the Church.Concerns have been expressed by insiders in the commission, over the influence the Prime Minister’s office has had in some recent appointments.
The Right Reverend Colin Buchanan, ardent disestablishmentarian and former Bishop of Woolwich said that: “Anything that enables the church to function without the interference of parliament and government is to be welcomed.”
The current Bishop of Wolverhampton, the Right Reverend Michael Bourke said that Brown’s idea would “simplify the process” of choosing bishops.
He continued urging caution if this could take the church into disestablishment: “I believe the Church is there to not just be a private society, but to be part of the public world so it is not entirely unreasonable that the public has a say in the appointment of the Church’s leaders.”
A spokesman for the Church of England said that the Church was not planning to ask for the power to choose Bishops to be returned, but that discussion would take place if a later Government ever wanted to review current practice.
