I've got a friend who doesn't think that there should be women priests, so the whole idea of women being bishops was not something that had appeared on her radar. She just wouldn't be comfortable in a church where the priest was female, yet, despite this, she always asks how Mrs Gerbil is getting on, and is genuinely interested.
It was the other week that we were chatting and she told me of her background in the Catholic Church. To her, priests are men. While she has heard some outstanding female preachers, she doesn't think that they should be ordained. As far as she is concerned, the role of women is to be the wife and mother. The role that was expected of women for centuries. Being a priest is a role for men. No exceptions.
It's odd, but I've got an expectation that all women would be in favour of equality, and I never thought I would encounter a woman that thought differently. Especially not in my social circles. This past few months have made me realise I can't assume anything about anyone's opinions.
Yet last night I found a pamphlet from an organisation that was opposed to votes for women. It's not a bit of internet trash, anti-suffragism existed on both sides of the Atlantic.
So do we need another generation to come through, one that is more used to women as priests, before we see women bishops?
Or is it more likely that they try a reformation and abolish the bishops?
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