THE Church of England almost tore itself apart over the issue of whether women should be ordained.

Some members - including MP Anne Widdecombe - even fled into the fold of the rather more traditional Catholic church so they'd never have to come across a female at the altar.

But now the position of women in the Anglican community is so established that the church's ruling council has decided to consider letting them become bishops.

And the first female to wear the mitre and wield the crozier could well be our very own Dr Joy Tetley, the Archdeacon of Worcester.

As the comments in our page three story reveal, times have changed in the last 20 years, and even such a venerable body as the Church of England has been forced to move with them.

There are still people who find the very thought of female clerics an abomination, but most people have got used to the idea in the 10 years since women first started conducting holy communion.

The hardliners will use the bishop issue to make a last stand, but this seems to be an idea whose time has come.

And we can think of no better person to style herself a Rt Rev than Dr Tetley.

She has worked tirelessly for the diocese of Worcester since 1999 and anyone who has met her has admired her dedication.

Anyone in any other job would be considered for promotion by now.

We think the same should apply to Dr Tetley.