The Significance of Anglicans Turning Catholic
A conservative Anglican communion is pleading to be incorporated into the Church of Rome. Reflecting a broader trend, the significance of this event is destined to grow with time.
By Joel Hilliker
November 14, 2007

A forecast made in the 1930s is making its way into today’s headlines.

Those headlines would be easy enough to pass over, but they are worth taking a moment to think about. They represent a dangerous weakening of British sovereignty that first glance wouldn’t suggest. Not only that, they confirm just how far ahead of his time was the man making the forecast.

Historically, England has been distinct from mainland Europe in a number of ways besides just the geographic separation provided by the English Channel. One of the most crucial, in terms of establishing and maintaining British sovereignty and independence, has been the existence of the Church of England. From the time of England’s break from Rome in the 16th century, the British monarch has been the titular head of the church, heading an ecclesiastical structure entirely separate from the pope-centered Roman Catholicism that has dominated continental history. The Act of Settlement, passed in 1701 and still in effect, preserves this independence by requiring that the person assuming the throne be Anglican and specifically excluding a Catholic or anyone who has married a Catholic. The present queen, when she was crowned in 1953, swore an oath “to maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed religion established by law.” Upholding this oath factors heavily in Britain’s independence from Europe because, since the pope claims authority over all Roman Catholics, a Catholic British monarch would owe primary allegiance to Rome over and above that owed the British crown. the rest photo

(h/t Anglicans Ablaze)