London, England - The Roman Catholic Church has issued a scathing critique of Church of England plans to admit women bishops, warning that the reform would "radically" impair their relations.
In an official paper, the Catholic bishops said that consecrating women was "a tremendous and intolerable risk" that could cause "irreparable damage", both within and outside the Anglican Church.
It said that while the Church of England was free to do as it wanted, such a step was at odds with the "texts and spirit" of recent statements on unity drawn up between the two Churches.
While the Catholic Church's opposition to women priests and bishops is well known, the blunt tone of the 10-page document will disappoint the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.
Dr Williams has made no secret of his desire for greater unity with the Catholic Church, from which the Church of England separated during the reign of Henry VIII.
He became the first serving archbishop to attend a papal funeral in April and he led an Anglican delegation to meet Benedict XVI the day after the new Pope's inauguration.
Despite tensions over issues such as homosexuality, Dr Williams has also built up a warm rapport with Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, his Catholic counterpart.
Drawn up by the Department of Dialogue and Unity, headed by the Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Rev Kevin McDonald, it is the bishops' official response to the Church of England Rochester report, published in 2004.