(Times leader): Bitter fudge of the Anglican Church

At the heart of Anglicanism lies a terrible dilemma. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, as the commission exploring the possibility of unity between the two traditions reminds us, the Anglican Communion is not a single Church demanding adherence to a disciplined codex of canon law. It is a fellowship of 38 provinces, each with its own prayer book, traditions and legal structure, bound together only by bonds of trust and fellowship. When any one of those provinces takes a step considered by others to be morally or theologically unacceptable, there is no legal or institutional method for dealing with the breach. Tolerance and compromise — loving or begrudging — are the only way that the communion can be preserved. The alternative is schism. Read more