Anglican primate calls for end to Catholic monarch ban

Dublin, Ireland, Jan 19, 2007 / 09:01 am

The new Anglican Primate of All Ireland has called for an end to the ban on Catholics becoming the British monarch. In an interview with the Irish Times newspaper, Bishop Alan Harper, said it is now time to "move on."

Bishop Harper was elected the new Archbishop of Armagh on Jan. 10. The Act of Settlement of 1701 bans Catholics, or those married to Catholics, from ascending the British throne.

The Act "belongs to its time and we should move on," he reportedly said.

However, the repeal could have implications for the Church of England since the British monarch is also governor of the Church of England.

Bishop Harper told the Irish Times that the disestablishment of the Church of England and the separation of church and state is something it would "not only get over, but would be the better for it".

In the past, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, in London, has noted that the act would allow a prince to marry "a Hindu, a Buddhist, anyone, but not a Roman Catholic" and still be king.