(bbc) On scrapping the ban on future monarchs marrying Roman Catholics, Mr Cameron said: "Let me be clear, the monarch must be in communion with the Church of England because he or she is the head of that Church. But it is simply wrong they should be denied the chance to marry a Catholic if they wish to do so. After all, they are already quite free to marry someone of any other faith."
David Cameron: ''The idea a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he's a man... is at odds with the modern countries we have become'"
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, said the elimination of the "unjust discrimination" against Catholics would be widely welcomed."At the same time I fully recognise the importance of the position of the established church [the Church of England] in protecting and fostering the role of faith in our society today," he said.
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond also welcomed the lifting of the ban but said it was "deeply disappointing" that Roman Catholics were still unable to ascend to the throne.
"It surely would have been possible to find a mechanism which would have protected the status of the Church of England without keeping in place an unjustifiable barrier on the grounds of religion in terms of the monarchy," he said.
"It is a missed opportunity not to ensure equality of all faiths when it comes to the issue of who can be head of state."
In her opening speech to the summit, the Queen did not directly mention the royal succession laws, but said women should have a greater role in society.
"It encourages us to find ways to show girls and women to play their full part," she said.
Notice they don't mention anything other then Catholics.
FIONA: They
didn't mention anyone other than Roman Catholics because the Act of
Settlement 1701 only prohibited the monarch, heir apparent or heir
presumptive from marrying a Roman Catholic and still remaining in the
line of succession. The heirs...
could still marry an RC, but they would no longer be in the line of
succession. Theoretically, any heir could marry a Jew (or any other
faith) and still be in the line of succession. However, the monarch must
*be in communion" with the Church of England as the monarch of the head
of the Church (like the Roman Pope is head of the RCs), so if a male
monarch married a Jewish woman, that child would presumably need to
convert to Anglicanism and hence become an Jewish apostate. This is no
way a certainty however as it had never been tested.
Ok... I guess I just didn't care before about these people... all I can say is I wonder why the world doesn't bitch about the British being a Christian state officially and then turn around and make such a stink about Israel.
