How could one possibly call for steps that lead to what one believes is an impossibility?
As a true bishop of the Catholic Church, Bishop Williamson, often says, it could just because he's sick in the head.
Obviously, Bishop Buchel believes that it is theologically possible for women to be ordained or else it would be madness for him to propose canonical steps leading there.
No. It isn't obvious at all. He is calling for more theological study on the matter. He hasn't made any heretical declaration
here, though I'm willing to bet that he probably has in the past.
Saint Thomas More was the prime example of what I am talking about. In the play,
A Man for All Seasons, Master Cromwell tells Saint Thomas that everyone knows his position on the marriage. The saint replies, "The world must construe according to its wits. This Court must construe according to the law." And what was the law? Silence gives consent.
In this particular narrow issue--this interview as reported and no other evidence--the bishop is proposing that the theological issues surrounding women's ordination be investigated. Clearly, he hopes that such an investigation by the Catholic Church find that women's ordination is possible. He declares that! But his hope is not a
manifest heresy, though, I daresay, this hope would be a valid reason for the Catholic Church to investigate him for heresy and, given the state of the bishoprics today, the investigation would likely find whole storehouses full of heresy.