This [Lambeth] Commission recommends, therefore, and urges the primates to consider, the adoption by the churches of the Communion of a common Anglican Covenant which would make explicit and forceful the loyalty and bonds of affection which govern the relationships between the churches of the Communion. (Windsor Report, 118)
Dr Caroline Hall's essays, to which I linked in an earlier post, reminded me of the nonsensical words in the Windsor Report (the report, which somehow became a set of rules that must be obeyed), making explicit and forceful the bonds of affection. Who wrote the words? Who proofread the words and permitted them to stand? I'd guess more than a few people approved the words, and the report was sent out to the member churches of the Anglican Communion. Did no one note the silliness? A picture forms in my mind of a large number of people being forced into a group hug.
The reality is that the bonds of affection are either present, or they are not. Bonds of affection cannot be coerced by threats of consequences. The covenant cannot and will not force the members of the various churches of the communion to love one another.
