Church of England votes to bring back ‘defrocking’ as punishment for clergy

Clergy who are guilty of serious misconduct may be stripped of their holy orders after the Church of England’s ruling body voted to reinstate “defrocking”.

All priests, from newly ordained curates to the archbishop of Canterbury, could be defrocked under new disciplinary measures backed by the General Synod, which is meeting in York.

The power to defrock clergy was abolished more than 20 years ago. At present, the harshest punishment available to church authorities is to impose a lifetime ban on a priest being able to officiate. But their status...