First Woman Named Bishop In Sweden

A Lutheran minister was appointed Sweden’s first female bishop Thursday, a milestone in a country where equality of the sexes is a major national goal.

The government’s decision had been expected after Christina Odenberg, 57, won the backing of ministers and laypersons in her new diocese of Lund in southern Sweden.

But conservative clerics have criticized the appointment. Some have threatened to leave the church or to regard the diocese of Lund as vacant.