Bishop Anis (almost) Nails It

I commend to your careful reading Bishop Mouneer Anis’ Reflections on the Joint Standing Committee. I respectfully differ from the Bishop of Egypt in that I do believe there are times for withdrawal as the Apostles clearly taught. But other than that, he nails the current situation in the Anglican Communion, especially here:

I cannot see any desire to follow things through as decided before. 
The Windsor Report (TWR) recommendations, which was accepted by everyone since it was produced in 2004 is a very good example. These recommendations were affirmed during the Primates meeting in 2005, everyone waited for TEC and Canada to respond. TEC’s responses were unclear and the Primates at Dar es Salam requested a clear response by the 30th of September. The response was clearly inadequate as Archbishop Rowan mentioned in his Advent letter. What action did we take or recommend in the JSC meeting? The answer is nothing. Moreover, the very people who cause the current crisis are invited to Lambeth Conference and this contradicts with TWR as well as Dar es Salam recommendations. This widens the gap and distrust between the two sides within the Communion.

He sees that the Covenant Process is a dollar short and several years late:

I was shocked when the time line of the covenant process was presented. The plan that it would be enacted in 2015 gives the impression that we are NOT in a state of crisis and that there is no desire to move towards a solution. In my opinion, if we wait until 2015 or even 2012 the Communion will be fragmented. If we truly are in a situation that makes us “seriously concerned”, as mentioned in the JSC resolution, how can we wait another four or seven years?

Good question. This crisis began in 2003, and the response? Numerous meetings, panels, reports, and communiqués – with those having any teeth promptly undercut by the Archbishop of Canterbury, of course -- culminating in a toothless covenant in maybe 2015.

As Johnny Rotten once asked, “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?”