[Catholic Herald] The 1700 Act of Settlement, which prevents the English Sovereign from being or marrying a Roman Catholic, is too difficult to amend, according to British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Recent calls from the newly formed Scottish Parliament had asked for changes to be considered.

"The Government is conscious that this is a subject on which both Catholics and non-Catholics have strongly held views which needs to be treated with respect," said the Prime Minister.

The legislation was one of several measures introduced after the bloodless coup of 1688, which saw James II, a Roman Catholic, removed from his throne. Most of the penal laws were repealed in 1829 during Catholic Emancipation, but the Act of Settlement secures the Monarch as head of the Church of England and excludes Roman Catholics from the line of succession.

"Any attempt to amend the act would in any case be complex in the extreme," Tony Blair explained, "as at least eight other pieces of legislation, some prior to the Acts of Union with Scotland and Ireland, would have to be amended. Moreover, to avoid any disputes over the succession, identical legislation would need to be passed by at least 15 other independent monarchies within the Commonwealth."

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, a Roman Catholic educated member of the Church of Scotland and MSP for Lothian, said the 18th century Act was "totally out of line with the socially inclusive multi-faith community which the Government professes to believe in."