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- Title
"A relic of religious barbarism": The Controversy over the Royal Declaration Against Transubstantiation.
- Authors
McEVOY, Frederick J.
- Abstract
The British monarch, upon ascending the throne, was required by law to make a declaration denouncing the doctrine of transubstantiation and declaring the mass and devotion to Mary and the saints as idolatrous. This was extremely offensive to Catholics. In 1899 Father Michael Fallon of Ottawa began a campaign within Canada to have the British government abolish the declaration. Though unsuccessful at the time, the issue was raised again in 1901, after Edward VII reluctantly made the declaration following his succession to the throne. The House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to urge the British government to take action. This was widely welcomed not only by Catholics but also by the majority of the non-Catholic and secular press, with the Orange Order being the primary opponent. This response showed a distinct lessening of Catholic-Protestant tensions. Opinion in Canada and elsewhere in the Empire made a strong impression in Britain, but it was not until George V succeeded his father in 1910 that the offensive language of the declaration was removed by act of the British parliament. This episode sheds light on the imperial context for the evolving relationship between Catholics and Protestants in Canada.
- Subjects
CANADA; UNITED Kingdom; TRANSUBSTANTIATION; BRITISH kings &; rulers; PROTESTANT-Catholic relations; CATHOLIC Church; PROTESTANT churches; CHURCH &; state; ORANGE Order; HISTORY
- Publication
Études d'Histoire Religieuse, 2016, Vol 82, Issue 1/2, p49
- ISSN
1193-199X
- Publication type
Article