Pandering to bigotry?

What I found most striking, indeed most morally abrasive, from this week's synod were attempts from the upper echelons of the Church of England, including the Archbishop of Canterbury himself, to establish some form of tepid middle-ground of equality. Ostensibly, this proposed compromise would allow for female bishops but would have them under male supervision should this be deemed necessary; surely this is just moving the goal posts and neglecting to deal with the actual issue of equality? It's akin to telling a suffragette they can have a vote then subsequently endowing the male population with two votes each, it achieves nothing, in fact if anything it places more hurdles on the path of those striving for equality.

The issue of unity in the church also grates on me. Don't get me wrong, maintaining a united church all singing from the same sheet, as it were, is the noblest of intents - but at what cost? In what other organisation would the top brass be pandering to sections of its membership whose views were inarguably sexist? Moreover, where else in our country would community leaders be attempting to placate these bastions of inequality with legislation rife with prejudice? It wouldn't happen, the law would be cited and these purveyors of archaic bigotry quashed. But our bigoted brothers threaten to leave the church? Show them the door I say, your prejudices have no place here.

The whole debate throws up even more questions about the relationship between church and state which I shan't attempt to tackle here but I will ask this; if the church is seemingly above the law in matters of equality then where else is it above the law? Where exactly is this exemption provided for?

As a closing remark I'd like to offer my congratulations to those open-minded and progressive people who have put into motion great reform in the church. You might just find your vote for inclusiveness is exactly that and new membership for a church that is increasingly beginning to champion equality far outweighs any loss suffered from any deserting zealots.