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Canada's
head of state: We can do better
Toronto,
Feb 3, 2005 – On February 6, monarchists will be marking the 53rd
anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s Accession
to the Throne. Representing Canada’s republican movement, Citizens
for a Canadian Republic is taking this opportunity to raise
the fundamental issue of the true allegiances of our unelected
head of state, as stated in the inappropriate oath she took when
officially crowned in 1953.
Specifically,
the following excerpts are noteworthy:
Archbishop
(the Archbishop of Canterbury): Will you to your power cause Law
and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?
Queen: I
will.
Archbishop:
Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God
and the true profession of the Gospel?
Will
you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom
the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law?
Will
you maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the
Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and
government thereof, as by law established in England?
And
will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England, and to
the Churches there committed to their charge, all such rights
and privileges, as by law do or shall appertain to them or any
of them?
Queen: All
this I promise to do.
Ashok
Charles, a senior member of Citizens for a Canadian
Republic’s executive, expresses why this oath is
completely unsuitable for a twenty-first century Canadian head
of state:
“The
Queen’s commitment to Canada is questionable. For instance,
the only "rights and privileges" she promised to
defend were those of the "Bishops and Clergy of
England" and the pledge to maintain the Protestant religion
and maintain and preserve the settlement of the Church of
England, is alarming for its lack of equitability. Furthermore,
rather than to SERVE the citizenry she promises to govern, she
merely offers to show "mercy.”
Charles
adds, “In comparison, other heads of state, including those of
the republics of the United States, Ireland and India, pledge to
defend their respective constitutions or the rights and welfare
of their citizens.”
Just
as those nations have outgrown the undemocratic principles of
monarchy and emphasized the separation of church and state,
Charles says, " We can do better."
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
The
History Of The Coronation Oath (from the protestant Rev. Ian
Paisley) http://www.ianpaisley.org/article.asp?ArtKey=coronation
The
Queen’s Coronation Oath (full text) http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page926.asp
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