|PIC1|The Church of England is staying tight lipped over a report that senior bishops have met Vatican officials in secret talks on the crisis in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported that a number of bishops met top Vatican officials to discuss homosexual priests and women bishops, both major stumbling blocks to closer relations between the two Churches.

The Church of England General Synod, currently taking place in York, is due to debate on Monday the extent to which alternative provisions should be made for clergy and parishes opposed to the ordination of women bishops.

According to The Sunday Telegraph, the bishops met members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a Vatican group headed up by the Pope when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger.

A spokesman for the Church of England told the Press Association: "This is one of a plethora of stories on the internet and in print ahead of Monday's debate and it will be down to General Synod to determine the way ahead on this issue."

Conservatives within the Church of England object to a 'code of practice' to accommodate objectors, 1,300 reportedly writing to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York earlier this week declaring their intention to defect from the Church if women are consecrated as bishops.

The Rev Angus MacLey of Sevenoaks in Kent said that a code of practice would be "inadequate" and "unworkable", according to the Independent newspaper.

"I do recognise that the consecration of women to the episcopate is going to happen," he said.

"I want to highlight that it is reasonable to permit those who consciously object, that it is fair for them to stay in, rather than in any way be sidelined, or forced to leave, because we base our views on accepted theology and biblical views that have been held down the centuries."