Non-approval of proposed covenant could 'make or break' Anglican Communion, warns design group chair

Draft document gives churches ‘autonomy … with strong glue’
Marites N. Sison
staff writer
May 4, 2009

Kingston, JamaicaArchbishop Drexel Gomez, chair of the Covenant Design Group (CDG), Monday urged delegates of the 14th Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) to send out “for consideration and adoption” the third and final draft of the proposed Anglican Covenant to the member churches of the Anglican Communion, saying “what is decided here is likely to make or break the communion.”

Archbishop Gomez, who recently retired as primate of the Church of the Province of the West Indies, warned that while at least three provinces have questioned whether there was a need for a common covenant among Anglican churches worldwide, “I have to say to you in all seriousness, the communion is close to the point of breaking up.” He did not identify which provinces are cold to the idea of a covenant, which was recommended by the Lambeth Commission on Communion as a way to address deep fissures among Anglican churches worldwide triggered by the issue of homosexuality. the rest