Women priests 'could save Church'

[The Straight Story]

Women priests 'could save Church'

Women priests will save the Church of England from sinking in the future, researchers have said.

The findings by the University of Manchester come in the wake of comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury that the ordination of women had not "transformed or renewed" the Church in "spectacular ways".

David Voas, a senior researcher at the university, said statistics from last year's English Church Census showed that nearly half of all priests ordained in recent years have been women.

He said: "Close to a quarter of male parish priests are 60 or older, and their average age is 54. Without women, the pulpits would become as de-populated as the pews in the years to come."

In a recent interview in the Catholic Herald, the Archbishop, while emphasising that he still believed the Church of England had been right to create women priests, was quoted as saying: "I don't think it has transformed or renewed the Church of England in spectacular ways. Equally, I don't think it has corrupted or ruined the Church of England in spectacular ways."

Dr Voas said the apparent lack of impact of women clergy was not surprising.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/26112006/344/women-priests-save-church.html

:rofl:

Edited to add: NOW they are wanting to play nice with women?