From Mr Alan Bartley SIR – David Twiston Davies provocatively asks “Why can’t William marry a Catholic?” (Comment, Mar 18), but then goes on to admit that he clearly can, like the “at least five members of the Royal Family who have disqualified themselves as potential successors to the throne.” Mr Twiston Davies then proceeds to picture the blessing of William settling down with a convent-educated girl as an argument for removing the bar to him marrying a Catholic, without looking at the possible price we would pay. Opening this question would naturally invite the secularists to argue for the final removal of Christianity from the public square and, given religious apathy, that might just happen.
Quickly following that secularist victory would come the removal of all privileges to Catholic and other faith based bodies, whether, church, charity or school.
Do Catholics really want to risk accelerating our nation’s secularisation for the hypothetical advantage should William want to marry a Catholic?
Given that celebrities more than monarchs set the fashion and mores of today, given that monarchs have become tools in the hands of politicians, what real asset would a Catholic Queen in a secular state be? Does it really matter to most of us whether William marries a Catholic or not and whether another as a result succeeds to the throne?
Not all Catholics act according to Catholic teaching; so in the same way that many Catholic politicians turn out to be pro-choice rather than pro-life, the influence of a Catholic Queen might not be the blessing or influence envisaged.
Yours faithfully, ALAN BARTLEY Greenford, Middx