OVERSEAS AND OTHER CLERGY (MINISTRY AND ORDINATION) MEASURE (Hansard, 11 July 1967)

THE LORD BISHOP OF LEICESTER

My Lords, this Measure deals with a difficulty that arises because of the mobility of clergy, not only within a country but throughout the world. We have been working for a long time in the Church of England under the rules of what is called the Colonial Clergy Act. In brief, this means that all clergy, from whatever country they come—whether from the Dominions, from the few remaining Colonies, or indeed from other lands altogether—have to be brought under the umbrella of this Colonial Clergy Act. This is not something that they enjoy. Many of them do not feel that in any sense they come from the Colonies.

1004 This particular Measure makes it possible for the Archbishop to give clergy a licence to serve in this country without this rather anachronistic title; and those who do not belong in any sense to the territories of Her Majesty are to be excused from the oath of allegiance which is normally required from the clergy of the home country. The same privileges are extended to overseas Bishops if they are visiting this country. I can assure the House from personal experience, as well as with the authority of all the requisite bodies concerned, that this will remove a number of very irritating anomalies from the service of the Church. I beg to move.