British bishops resist move to allow monarch to marry a Catholic

[cbayer]

http://www.religionnews.com/2013/01/09/british-bishops-resist-move-to-allow-monarch-to-marry-a-catholic/

Trevor Grundy | Jan 9, 2013

CANTERBURY, England (RNS) A royal row has broken out between Church of England bishops and Prime Minister David Cameron’s liberal-minded coalition government over a planned bill to change ancient laws governing the royal line of succession.

The government wants to pass the proposed Succession to the Crown Bill in time for the birth of a baby to Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton this summer.

The new law would ensure that if the first royal baby is a girl, she will become heir to the throne rather than have to yield to a male sibling.

The bill would also change a law passed in 1701, when a French invasion aimed at restoring Catholicism to Protestant England seemed certain, that stipulates that the British monarch cannot marry a Roman Catholic.

more at link

[LeftishBrit]

1. Slightly misleading title

It is one bishop - George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury (appointed by Maggie T), and now a campaigner for all things right-wing- who seems to have complained about the plan to allow royals to marry Catholics. The other bishop mentioned was concerned that things should be arranged so that the Established Church is not threatened - well, he would, wouldn't he? -but didn't actually attack the measure out-of-hand.

This seems to be mainly a storm whipped up by the Daily Mail, a very pernicious right-wing tabloid, including Simon Heffer, an atheist who promotes the Christian Right in Britain (don't ask; we have our own brands of crazies). Anyone who refers to the Cameron government as 'liberal-minded' has got to be pretty right-wing!

[cbayer]

2. I thought that calling the Cameron government liberal was really odd as well.

It's hard to believe that the religious wars are still raging in Britain.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. It is being 'liberal' on gay marriage, compared to the Church of England

(and many of its backbenchers).

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. A storm in a teacup

The bill also points out the monarch must 'approve' the marriages of the first 6 in line to the throne (at the moment, it's more than that). So they just have to remind the prospective Catholic spouse that, to be in line for the throne, children must be brought up as Anglicans. When that's understood, the marriage would be able to proceed. It's not as if heirs to the throne get married on a whim in Vegas, and bring back a spouse who complains they hadn't heard about this "head of the Church of England" thing, and this wasn't what they agreed to...

But part of me hopes someone in the Church of England really does try to derail this, and then we'll have an excellent basis for disestablishing it, and chucking them out of the Lords.