No Pope Here! Why? #2 The Act of Settlement

Any proposed visit by the Pope is to be opposed on constitutional grounds. The Act of Settlement underpins the British Constitution and safeguards the British throne from ever being influenced by Roman Catholicism again.

The Act of Settlement was passed in 1701. It came into being at the end of the reign of King William III, when his successor to the throne, Anne, had lost her only surviving child. It was felt expedient by Parliament, at that time, to bring into law a requirement that only Protestants, in communion with the Church of England, should be allowed on the throne.

No Pope Here!

Reasons for opposing the papal visit to Scotland & England of Pope Benedict XVI:

3. Constitutional - The Act of Settlement safeguards the British throne from being Catholic again. This Act was passed in 1701 at the end of the reign of King William III when his successor to the throne Anne had lost her only surviving child. 

It was then felt expedient to bring in a law that only Protestants in communion with the Church of England should be allowed to sit on the throne. One of the consequences of the Act was to bring the house of Hanover into the line of accession in front of fifty-seven other people under the normal rules of inheritance. This eventually led to George I coming to the throne in 1714. In effect it brought to Stuart dynasty to an end. 

Clause 9 of the Acts of Settlement reads: 

Whereas it has been found by experience that is inconsistent with the safety and welfare of this Protestant Kingdom to be governed by a Popish Prince or by any King or Queen marrying a Papist. 

Our forefathers learned by bitter experience that freedom and liberty are in danger when Romanism is in the ascendency. It is essential that we understand the underlying motivation in this Constitutional settlement. The title is it gives us the key. It is an Act: 

… declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and settling the Succession of the Crown. 

The Act of Settlement is there to protect the liberties of the citizens. 

Rome has a long history of terror in our nation. There were hundreds of Protestant martyrs who lost their lives at the hand of popish rulers in this United Kingdom. There are scores of martyrs sites all over England marking this sad legacy. 

The most barbaric period was the during the reign of bloody Queen Mary 1553 -1558. During her reign, she repaired the severed relationship with Rome and returned England to Catholicism. Many Protestants who opposed Mary’s actions were exiled, and nearly 300 dissenters were burned at the stake, earning her the nickname ‘Bloody Mary’. 

The memory of the Reformers and the martyrs would compel us to resist the papal visit. This is the institution that put those martyrs to death. Rome hasn’t changed one iota, therefore we resist the pope’s claims and say no Pope here.