God save the nation

If the Archbishop of Canterbury does not crown our next monarch, then who will? The president of Europe? A multi-faith collective? Nobody at all? In which case, what sort of country will we then be and where will ultimate authority and legitimacy come from? Perhaps the prior question is why there should now be serious doubt about the Archbishop’s role at the heart of our constitution.

It says something about the state of the worldwide Anglican Church that it seems more interested in homosexuality than in anything else. Last month we were entertained by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s U-turn on the appointment of a homosexual bishop. Now the Episcopalians have broken the taboo. It is probably safe to say that, as regular attenders at places of worship, Anglicans are now easily beaten in this country by both Muslims and Catholics. As they cast around for a solution, both the adherents of the Church, and, indeed, those who have no special love for it, have arrived at the same conclusion: disestablishment.