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Act of Settlement

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that point, but that is why I thought it was important to highlight the fact that discussions are under way with other Commonwealth countries. It is not that the Government are in favour of no change; we are simply considering change carefully and thoughtfully. The hon. Gentleman mentions timing, so it is worth picking up on the issue relating to the exclusion of Roman Catholics from the throne. We should examine the view of the Church on this, although I appreciate that there are divergent opinions. The previous Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, said that he thought that the Act of Settlement was""discriminatory. I think it will disappear, but I don't want to cause a great fuss"." The current Archbishop of Westminster has said:""I wouldn't rush to support such a change in the law. I think that the position of the Queen and the monarchy is to be handled with great sensitivity"."