Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Freethinker

Home
Nonreligious
Arcane law stops British PM from advising Queen on Church of England matters

Arcane law stops British PM from advising Queen on Church of England matters

Last updated on: June 16, 2021 at 4:19 pm by Barry Duke

Arcane law stops British PM from advising Queen on Church of England matters 2021-06-16T16:19:22+02:00 Barry Duke

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

image via YouTube

BECOMING a Catholic can produce some unexpected surprises. This is something Boris Johnson, above, learned last year when he lost the power to advise the Queen on matters regarding Church of England bishops.

Why? Because he officially embraced Catholicism in order to marry his third wife, Carrie Symonds – but a law dating back to 1829 forbids Catholics from advising monarchs about C of E business.

The issue did not receive much media coverage until, at the weekend, various Christian media outlets seized on a declaration by Johnson – “who doesn’t have a religious bone in his body” – to call people who reject the notion of God “foolish.”

Speaking at the G7 conference in Cornwall to ITV reporter Robert Peston, Johnson, always the slippery eel, dodged Peston’s question as to whether he was a now a full-on, practicing Roman Catholic.

Instead, on being told by Preston that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had said he does not believe in God, Johnson quoted the threadbare Psalm 14:

The foolish man has said in his heart there is no God.

(Trolls just love that psalm. If I had a dollar for each time it’s been emailed to me over the years I’d be riding a Harley Davidson Cosmic Starship.)

In reporting Johnson’s silly response, and the fact that “one senior Tory” claimed Johnson was not in the least bit religious, The Christian Post homed in on the law that now prevents the PM from advising the Queen – section 18 of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829.

The law says:

It shall not be lawful for any person professing the Roman Catholic religion directly or indirectly to advise his Majesty, or any person or persons holding or exercising the office of guardians of the United Kingdom, or of regent of the United Kingdom, under whatever name, style, or title such office may be constituted, or the lord lieutenant of Ireland, touching or concerning the appointment to or disposal of any office or preferment in the Church of England, or in the Church of Scotland; and if any such person shall offend in the premises he shall, being thereof convicted by due course of law, be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and disabled for ever from holding any office, civil or military, under the Crown.

Writing for Legal Cheek, C J McKinney suggested that Johnson had already broken the law because he’s always been a Catholic!

As the Irish Times reported yesterday, “according to the Catholic Church’s canon law, and despite Mr Johnson’s reception of Church of England confirmation at school, he remained a Catholic as it is not possible to formally defect from the Church”.

You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

The paper goes on to state as fact that “on assuming office in July 2019, Mr Johnson became Britain’s first Catholic prime minister”.

The final piece of the puzzle: has Johnson advised the Crown to appoint any Church of England bishops since then? Yes: 10 Downing Street announced the appointment of a new Bishop of Chelmsford late last year.

So there you have it: the Catholic Relief Act 1829 positively demands that the papist PM be pulled down …

The CP also pointed out that, from now on Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland:

Will send the names of new Church of England bishops to the queen, after a warning that the Prime Minister could be banished from office if he keeps doing so himself.

An unnamed source at No 10 told the publication that the rule is “incredibly anachronistic” because a Jewish or Muslim Prime Minister could nominate a bishop but not a Catholic.

The CP indicated that conservative Catholics are still smarting over Johnson’s marriage to Symonds in Westminster Catholic Cathedral late last month because of his two previous marriages, and having children out of wedlock.

The RCC does allow divorcees to remarry if the previous marriages were outside the Roman Catholic Church. Johnson’s former marriages to Allegra Mostyn-Owen and Marina Wheeler were not Catholic ceremonies and thus not recognised by the Catholic Church.

Father Mark Drew, assistant priest at St Joseph’s Church in Penketh, Warrington, told the BBC that he’s had to tell Catholic couples going through a divorce that they cannot remarry in the Catholic Church.

It looks to them – rightly or wrongly – as if the Church is applying double standards and I do fear that this decision does make the church look bad.

Christopher Lamb, a correspondent for the Catholic magazine The Tablet, told BBC Radio 5 about how Johnson’s third marriage reflects that there is one law for the rich and powerful and another for everyone else.

There will be a feeling that, why are some people who are divorced allowed to be married in the church and others not? And I think that’s where the church can look at its current roles and see how it can become more welcoming. It has been welcoming to Boris Johnson, why not to others?

Image via YouTube

It wasn’t just the traditionalists who got all huffy. Well-known progressive Jesuit Father James Martin, above, who serves as an editor-at-large for the Jesuit America Magazine and is an advocate for same-sex marriage, tweeted:

#BorisJohnson, a twice-divorced man, whose girlfriend recently had a baby with him out of wedlock (and who also has another child out of wedlock) was married in a Catholic ceremony in Westminster Cathedral, the seat of English Catholicism.

At the same time, a same-sex couple who are both Catholics (unlike Mr. Johnson, who was confirmed as an Anglican) cannot have their civil union blessed even in private by a priest because ‘God does not and cannot bless sin…’

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were married within the rules of the Catholic Church. And I wish them well. I also wish that the same mercy and compassion that was offered to them, recognizing their complex lives, could also be extended to same-sex couples who are lifelong Catholics.

• Please report any typos/errors to [email protected]

If you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee – and boy, do I get through a LOT of coffee keeping this site active – please click the link below.

I’d love a cup of coffee

Previous Post

June 14, 2021

In Australia, Anglicans have a serious domestic abuse problem

Next Post

June 16, 2021 Christian's suicide should be a warning to the 'ex-gay' movement

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Archive My Atheism News Opinion Reviews Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 March 2007 April 2006 February 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did God make on the fourth day of creation?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Sun, moon, and stars Plants Man Fish and birds

Books by This Author Books by The Freethinker

See All Titles »