KEY POINTS:
Senior Church of England bishops have held secret talks with Vatican officials to discuss the crisis in the Anglican communion over homosexual priests and women bishops.
They met senior advisers of the Pope in an attempt to build closer ties with the Roman Catholic Church.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was not told of the talks and the disclosure will come as a fresh blow to his efforts to prevent a major split in his church.
In highly confidential discussions with members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the most powerful Vatican department, the bishops expressed their dismay at the liberal direction of the Church of England and their fear for its future.
The disclosure comes on the eve of a critical vote by the General Synod on women bishops.
