I begin with the BBC’s report of an interesting Early Day Motion (EDM) recently tabled by the Labour MP Frank Field, who is someone I normally greatly admire – if only, for instance, he had been elected Speaker of the House of Commons rather than the present dire incumbent, respect for Parliament would, I am convinced, be appreciably higher than it is. Frank Field is what is known as a “devout” (which means actually practising) member of the Church of England: and what he has just done adds even more conviction (if that were possible) to my deep thankfulness that I am no longer a member of that remarkable body. When I was, I was never really worried by the Church of England’s established status: I just ignored it, and carried on as a Catholic believer within my own little corner of the Anglo-Catholic ghetto. But Mr Field’s EDM makes it impossible to ignore the fact that the Establishment of the Church of England is no mere formality. I am shocked by what Mr Field has done: but I should not have been as surprised as I was. He is simply behaving as a convinced English Anglican has a right to behave. This is how the BBC reports Mr Field’s démarche, under the headline: “MPs push case for women bishops”.