out in support of the Church of England's decision to allow women priests.

Their positive reaction came as the rift in the Church of England over the issue widened with one English bishop calling for dissatisfied Anglicans to set up a breakaway Church under the Pope's authority.

The Church of England overturned centuries of tradtiion last week by narrowly voting last week to ordain female priests.

But Anglican Bishop of Bermuda, the Rt. Rev. William Down yesterday said: "I can see no overwhelming reason for objection to the ordination of women to the Priesthood''.

"But,'' he said, "we have always wanted to be sure, in Bermuda, that when you're changing 2,000 years of tradition, that it is done carefully and with much thought.

"We shall take it step by step. Nothing will be rushed beyond the dioceses.

I've always said I will not push the diocese on something like this or stop them.'' However, he added: "I'm glad the Church of England has made its mind up and also glad that what has happened in the US and Canada, where women have been ordained for some time, has gone further.'' Canon James Francis said the Church of England decision "blows fresh breath into the Anglican Church''.

Recalling that he trained a female deacon, who later became a priest in his parish in Detroit, Michigan, Canon Francis said: "I'm all for it. We need all the talent we can get''.

Asked about the possibility of a rift in the local Church, he said: "Rifts tend to heal themselves. The Church is very resilient. Every time it faces a rift, it rises above that''.

Canon Francis said while it was unfortunate the Anglican Church will lose some members who cannot live with the decision, the Church will not fall apart.

"When we admitted blacks in the ministry and women in the ministry it did not fall apart,'' he said. "The Church will heal because it does not belong to anyone, it belongs to God.'' Canon Thomas Nisbett, of Christ Church, Devonshire, agreed.

"It's something that will eventually come and it's going to be something that we will have to accept, like anything else,'' he said.

"These things do cause a great upset at the beginning. But I don't think it will cause a rift in the Anglican Church in Bermuda.''