Archbishop Drexel Gomez, chair of the Covenant Design Group (CDG), Monday urged delegates of the 14th Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) to send out \u201cfor consideration and adoption\u201d\u009d the third and final draft of the proposed Anglican Covenant to the member churches of the Anglican Communion, saying \u201cwhat is decided here is likely to make or break the communion.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
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, \u201cI have to say to you in all seriousness, the communion is close to the point of breaking up.\u201d\u009d 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.<\/p>\n
Archbishop Gomez added: \u201cIf we are not able to commit ourselves to this sort of being a communion, the break up of its life is staring us in the face. Either we are a family, which means that each member of the family has care for and respect for the other members of the family, or we will have to learn to go our separate ways. The question is, do we wish to remain a communion?\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n