The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-03-02
THE CORONATION OATH AGAIN.

the United States have given consider
able space to the discussion of the
anti-popery oath taken by the king Of
England at his coronation. Without
any exception they all unite in saying
that the oath is obsolete and very in
sulting to British subjects of the Cath
Ollie faith. The Western Waterman
says that the king will not take the
oath, for the reason that it "has been
expunged from the statute books Of
England" Our st. Louis contempt
rary declares that the coronation oath
does not make the remotest allusion to
the Catholic church or any reference
to its doctrines, and this in face of the
fact that the following anti-Catholic
or no-popery oath was taken by King
Edward on the opening of parliament:
81, Edward, do solemnly and sin
cerely, in the presence of God, profess
testify, and declare that 1 do believe
that in the Sacrament of the Lords
Supper there is not any transubstan-
tiation of the elements of bread and
wine into the body and blood of Christ,
at or after the conservation thereof by
any person whatsoever; (2) And that
the invocation or alteration Of the Vir-
gin Mary or any other saints, and the
sacrifice of the mass, as they are now
used in the church of Rome, are su-
perstitious and idolatrous. 81 And
do solemnly, in the presence of God,
profess, testify and declare that 1 do
make this declaration and every part
thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense
Of the words read unto me, as they are
commonly understood by English Prot
estants, without any evasion, equivoca-
ton or mental reservation whatso-
ever"
The Western Waterman says that
the foregoing words are not in the
| coronation oath at all, and in SO say
ing it is quite correct; but had it in
vcstigated the matter more thoroughly
it would find that King Edward re-
peated the words just the same. 1t is
not enough for our esteemed contem-
porary to say: ''The present king of
England is a gentleman; and no ge1l-
tleman in our day will speak disre-
spectfully of another's religion. Ed
ward is m Englishman; and it is not
now considered good form in an Eng
lishman to lie'
That sounds quite nicely and quite
English, you know, but Edward is not
tire polished gentleman that George ".
was, and yet "the first gentleman in
Europe" as George ". was called.
was one Of the biggest liars and liber-
tines in Christendom. Every king and
queen of England since the reign of
Charles II. in the seventeenth century
has taken the oath against popery, the
Western Waterman to the contrary,
Notwithstanding.
If our esteemed contemporary takes
up Blackstone's Commentaries and
u. +,
find the substance, if not the form, of
the coronation OATH which contains no
reference or allusion to the Catholic
church, as stated, but underneath in a
footnote will be found the following
information:
"And it is required both by the bill
Of rin re- ck
the Act of Settlement, ~ and 10 w.
ill.,, C. 2, that every king and queen Of
the age of twelve years, either at their
coronation, or on the first day Of the
first parliament upon the throne in the
house of peers (Which shall first hap
penn, shall repeat and subscribe the
declaration against popery according to
the 30 Car. H., st. 2, c. L."
That declaration against popery"
has never been repealed, so far as the
sovereign is concerned. The oath TAX
en- by members of the British parlia-
ment was modified in 1929 as far as
it related to transubstantiation. etc.,
but another oath was substituted to be
taken by Catholics only, testifying al
legiance to the crown; promising to
maintain the Hanoverian settlement
and succession; declaring that it is no
article Of the Catholic faith that
princes communicated by the Pope
may be deposed or murdered by their
subjects; that neither the Pope nor
any other foreign prince has any tenn
poral or civil jurisdiction within the
realm" and a lot more Of similar stuff.
BY the Act of Catholic Emancipation
passed by the Duke of Wellington and
Sir Robert Peel to avert civil war,
and signed reluctantly by George w.,
Catholics were admitted to parliament
and to positions under the crown, but
they were excluded from the high off,
ces of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and
Lord Chancellor, though the latter Of
fee in Ireland was filled by Lord
O'Hagan, the first Roman Catholic to
be thus honored since the so-called
English reformation.