All future Church of England bishops should be approved by a representative from black or minority groups, Church leaders have recommended.
The plans will go before a meeting of the Church’s parliament, the General Synod.
In the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement last year the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, compared the CofE’s attitude to ethnic minorities with that of Nazi-era German churches to Jews.
He also called on cathedrals and churches to examine monuments and statues that may be connected to slavery, saying ‘some will have to come down’.
Reforms to the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), which picks bishops, have been recommended in a report compiled over three years by senior Church figures.
Its 38 recommendations will shake up the workings of the commission, which includes the archbishops of Canterbury and York, Synod members and a Downing Street official.
The key proposal says a minority representative should join the commission as a non-voting member whenever a new diocesan bishop has to be chosen – The individual must be listened to by other members.
Names of potential bishops go to the Prime Minister for final approval.
They are usually chosen by a two-thirds majority of CNC members. The report conceded: ‘We recognise some will be unhappy with a proposal for a non-voting co-opted member.’
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