In regard to the recent controversial political and religious issues happening in the United States of America, the Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) Board of Trustees has received some concerns from the Fellowship in our decisions for where we host our World CoDA Service Conference (CSC) and International CoDA Convention (ICC). We remind the Fellowship that the CoDA Board of Trustees are bound by the spiritual guiding principles of the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions and the Twelve Service Concepts. We “practice these principles in all of our affairs” (Step Twelve).

In our response to these concerns, Tradition Ten comes to the forefront: "CoDA has no opinion on outside issues, hence the CoDA name ought never be drawn into public controversy". Like our “parent” Fellowship, Alcoholics Anonymous, CoDA has never been divided by an outside controversial issue and we have remained united for thirty- six years by not publicly taking sides on any political or religious issues anywhere in the world. We strive “to practice and encourage spiritual principles in all our material, financial, and business affairs, including fairness, equality, and respect for individual rights.” (Service Concept Twelve) Individuals have a right to their own opinions and viewpoints whether they are in the majority or the minority. Therefore, we cannot make decisions in regard to location for our international events based on outside issues, in particular, political or religious viewpoints. It would cause division in our Fellowship and distract us from our primary purpose.

We also consider Tradition One, "Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon CoDA unity" and Tradition Five, "Each group has but one primary purpose: to carry its message to other codependents who still suffer".

CoDA’s existence depends upon CoDA unity. We are all part of a whole and our recovery depends upon our common bonds, tolerance and love for each other. We remain in unity by supporting, loving, and accepting one another unconditionally despite differing outside religious beliefs and political alignments. We remember that our primary purpose is to carry the message to those who still suffer no matter where they are in the world. We are happy to have an opportunity to bring international fellowship, support and recovery to an area where there are very few CoDA meetings. We will only further strengthen our Fellowship by providing support to all of our fellow CoDA members and reaching out to others who may be still suffering. This is our primary purpose.

board@coda.org

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