Legal changes that will let British monarchs marry Catholics, but not
be of that faith, will leave language that is “arcane and offensive” to
Catholics in British law, the House of Commons has been told.
After
just two days of debate by MPs, centuries-old laws, including one
giving precedence to younger brothers over older sisters in royal
successions, will be ended.
SDLP MP Mark Durkan said MPs were
being asked “to remove one layer of religious discrimination”, but not
the “other layers of religious discrimination that are still” there. He
said he had never sworn the Oath of Allegiance to take up his seat but,
instead, uses an affirmation: “I use it under protest because I will not
swear a lie.”
Concerns that the legislation is being rushed led
to unusual coalitions, including Catholic Conservative MP Jacob
Rees-Mogg and Free Presbyterian DUP MP Ian Paisley jnr.
“What an
unlikely coalition of high Papist, tight Prod, pleb. Should we call it
the Papal Prod Pleb Alliance?” said the North Antrim MP, who said
changes to symbolic rules should be considered carefully.
People
believed the removal from Belfast City Hall of the union flag for all
bar 18 days would provoke minor disruption, but 70 days of trouble
followed “that foolhardy action”, Mr Paisley went on.
Mr Rees-Mogg
objected to the legislation as “a Papist”, saying that a Catholic could
marry a royal heir, but may then not bring up their children as
Catholics if the succession is to be protected.