They finally noticed!
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London, England, Oct 14, 2011 / 08:11 pm (CNA).- The Catholic Church in the United Kingdom is giving a mixed reaction to plans to reform the centuries old law that prevents the British monarch from being Catholic or marrying a Catholic.
“The Act of Settlement amounts to iniquitous anti-Catholic discrimination,” said Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops of Scotland. [At least they finally noticed!]
The U.K. Prime Minister, David Cameron, revealed this week that he has written to the 15 other Commonwealth states where Queen Elizabeth is head of state with a view to reforming the Act of Settlement, which has been in force since 1701.
“This rule is a historical anomaly - it does not, for example, bar those who marry spouses of other faiths - and we do not think it can continue to be justified,” wrote Cameron.
However, the proposal does not include lifting the ban on Catholics ascending to the throne. The reason offered for this is that, upon coronation, the British monarch automatically becomes the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. [unless the monarch avails of the provision of Anglicanorum coetibus.]
“While a partial repeal is welcome, the continuing ban on a Catholic becoming head of state remains state-sponsored sectarianism,” Kearney told CNA Oct. 14.
Prime Minister Cameron is due to discuss his proposal with fellow Commonwealth leaders when they meet at a summit in Perth, Australia, later this month. Already the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, has said he will support the reform.
The Act of Settlement was originally passed to prevent the descendants of the Catholic King James II from ascending the throne. He was deposed in the 1688 “Glorious Revolution” by supporters of the Protestant William and Mary. Mary was the eldest Protestant daughter of James II and was married to William of Orange, who later became William III.
In recent years, the Act has affected several members of the British royal family.
In 2001, Lord Nicholas Windsor, the youngest son of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, permanently forfeited his right to the royal succession by converting to Catholicism. [But for Wales?!]
In 2008, Autumn Kelly, the Canadian fiancée of the Queen’s grandson Peter Philips, renounced her Catholicism in favor of Anglicanism, thus preserving her husband’s slim chances of becoming king. He is currently 11th in line to the throne. [But for Wales?!]
The U.K. Prime Minister’s other proposals for reforming the monarchy include ending the current preference given to male heirs over their older sisters.
“We espouse gender equality in all other aspects of life and it is an anomaly that in the rules relating to the highest public office we continue to enshrine male superiority,” wrote Cameron. [how about homosexual Prince of Wales? Shall he be Queen regnant soon? Bad joke.]
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Because it is ok to be prejudiced against Catholics.
Hmmm....just in case the monarch converts to another religions like Catholicism, what happens?
Hmmm...Head of the Church of England and subject to the Pope?
The blog of a group of Filipino Catholics and their frank commentary on anything that affects their lives as a citizen of the Philippines and as a Roman Catholics.
And supposed the next pope is English?...even worse joke :-) :-)
ReplyDeleteDavid Cameron should bite the bullet. He should move for the disestablishment of the Church of England. Then there would be no reason for the Monarch to be an Anglican.
ReplyDeleteThe Monarch in history has converted to Catholicism but the Protestant establishment won't have any of it. James II, a Catholic and a supporter of religious plurality and tolerance was kicked out by the Establishment in the "Glorious" Revolution. Charles II converted to Catholicism on his deathbed.
ReplyDeleteThe idea for the Protestant succession is that England will continue to be a Protestant state. However the UK today is neither Protestant, or religious for that matter but a radically secular one that tries to marginalize religious belief. There is no reason for the Monarch to be Anglican for that matter.
But the fact that the Monarch remains Anglican now remains as a sign of contradiction. The Monarch is anointed with chrism at her coronation. There is a religious dimension to her service and the Queen without a hitch has witnessed her low church kind of Anglicanism to her subjects. As a Catholic, I have no problems with that and so did Cardinal Basil Hume and most of the English Catholic bishops until quite recently. I have a problem with a legally secular Monarch in England, for there will never be a established Roman Catholic Church in England. If a Monarch can be a Roman Catholic, he/she will be probably barred from expressing his/her faith in official duties!
The Queen has expressed her dismay at all these secular developments in her church to the extent sending messages to Anglo-Catholics and Evangelicals opposed to women priests and bishops. She is reported to be not amused by gay clerics, gay marriage etc. However the Queen is bound by convention not to make her personal views made known directly. She can only do this upon advice of her ministers.
If the Church of England is disestablished, then the Queen can make her views known directly!
The Queen understandably is not thrilled with Anglicanorum coetibus and she according to palace insiders put the blame solely on the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, But the Queen was gracious enough to understand and accept why these Anglicans crossed the Tiber.
Anti-serpent, yeah right. The English Bishop, Msgr. Richard Williamson, SSPX. ...badder joke even. :D
ReplyDelete