Following the announcement by Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday that various constitutional changes would not include the repeal of the Act of Settlement, Cardinal Keith O'Brien said: "I am deeply disappointed at the statement from Gordon Brown.I remain deeply concerned that the 'Act of Settlement' will continue to exist and believe it constitutes state-sponsored sectarianism.
I have been happy to note the recent remarks by Scotland's new First Minister, Alex Salmond that the Act of Settlement should be removed.
I wrote to Gordon Brown in April 2006 following comments he made on the role of the Prime Minister in the selection of Church of England bishops to say that the terms of the Act of Settlement were anachronistic and that it was "an outstanding example of bigotry and sectarianism in the United Kingdom". I urged him to consider these views but did not receive a reply."
The Act of Settlement ensured the succession to the throne on the heirs of the Protestant Electress Sophia of Hanover, a granddaughter of James I.
It excludes Roman Catholics, Muslims and other non-Protestants from succeeding to the throne.
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