It is a sure sign of the degree of panic over the Pope’s offer to Anglicans that the Archbishop of Canterbury is even considering such a thing, but at the end of the day its too little too late.

The head of the Anglican Communion, Rowan Williams, is reportedly considering new rules to protect Anglican traditionalists from women Bishops. The Anglican communion is slated, at their general synod, to put its stamp of approval on women Bishops. However, they are sufficiently worried that traditionalists would rightly bolt to the Catholic church that they are attempting to create a ‘his/hers church.’

The AoC is reportedly considering rules in which so-called Anglican traditionalists would no be forced to serve under a women bishop.

Exactly how this allows traditionalist Anglicans to maintain communion is beyond me. If you really believe that the Church has no right to ordain women priests and bishops, how can such communion be maintained. If and when the Anglican communion formally accepts women Bishops, two sets of rules or not, if a priest or Bishop does not bolt the communion they can no longer call themselves traditionalist or Anglo-Catholic. The fiction will be revealed as such.

I don’t see how this last ditch effort by Rowan Williams changes a thing. The only way left to be Anglo-Catholic is to be Catholic first and Anglo second. When the Anglican general synod votes to accept women Bishops, rules or no rules, the time for choice is nigh.