Vatican Condemns Anglicans on Women Bishops

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican on Tuesday strongly criticized the Church of England's plan to ordain women bishops, describing it as a historic break from Christian doctrine that will drive Anglicans and Catholics further apart. The governing body of the Church of England, the mother Church of world Anglicanism, confirmed on Monday it will ordain women to the powerful rank of bishop -- albeit with compromise measures to appease traditionalists in its own ranks. As in the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican bishops have the ability to ordain priests. The decision widens the divide between Catholic and Anglican Churches, which had been making efforts to advance dialogue in recent years despite thorny issues such as gay Anglican clergy. "For the future, this decision will have consequences for dialogue, which until now had... [read full story]