The Daily Telegraph

#Metoo brings more women to priesthood

- By Olivia Rudgard RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS CORRESPOND­ENT

RISING numbers of women are entering the priesthood as a second career, Church of England figures show.

Women are being encouraged to join after movements such as #Metoo boosted their confidence and prompted male clergy to offer them more support, Church leaders suggested.

Following in the footsteps of the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally – who had a successful career in nursing – the number of women aged 40 to 54 being accepted for ordination has grown by 32 per cent in two years.

Catherine Nancekievi­ll, the Church’s head of disciplesh­ip and vocation, said: “Men actually championin­g women’s ministry and getting behind it really seems to have shifted over the last 10 years, and congregati­ons are becoming more accepting as well,” she said.

Women who had come of age when female priests were first allowed in 1994 were pursuing vocations after 20 or more years in their first career, she added.

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