New Anglican primate favours disestablishment and an end to Catholic ban
21/01/07

The new head of the (Anglican) Church of Ireland has said that the 1701 Act of Settlement, which prevents a Catholic from marrying a monarch, should be abolished. He has also affirmed that the disestablishment of the Church of England would be a positive rather than a negative step.

The outgoing Bishop of Connor, the Rt Rev Alan Harper, aged 62, made the comments, which he said were his personal view, in a lengthy interview with The Irish Times newspaper following his recent election as Primate of All Ireland.

The ancient constitutional ban means that a reigning British monarch could marry a Muslim, a Hindu or a Buddhist, but not a fellow-Christian who happened to be a Catholic. It applies to commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada, where the UK monarch is the titular head of state.

Both politicians of all persuasions and religious leaders of different traditions have attacked the continuing ban as an offensive anachronism. the rest