This is only minor centralization. Someone has to actually code things, it can't magically work and repair itself. The project is open source; anyone can contribute hence the decentralization.

It's obvious that many will understand this news the wrong way. Gavin is one of the main faces behind Bitcoin, and some highly respect him. He has influence. This move is what could start tearing Bitcoin apart from within. If the network splits even to 50-50, we can start looking towards the end of the line.

Exactly. No good will come from this.