Anglican Bishops Consult With Vatican Before Critical Vote

"Anglican bishops in secret Vatican summit" from UK Telegraph reports that conservative Anglican bishops, unhappy with the split in the church over issues of gays and women clergy, have gone behind the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' back to consult with the Vatican on their dilemma.

UPDATE:

Vatican expresses regret over Church of England vote for women bishops

They met members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the most powerful of the Vatican's departments, the successor to the medieval Inquisition, which enforces doctrine and was headed by Pope Benedict XVI before his election.

The names of the bishops are known to The Sunday Telegraph, but they have asked for anonymity because the talks are of such a sensitive and potentially explosive nature.

The disclosure comes on the eve of a critical vote as members of the General Synod – the Church's parliament – prepare to decide whether to allow women to be bishops without giving concessions to staunch opponents.