Scottish Christian.com

Home > News > Scottish Christian News Monitor

Burke and Hare act that would have Mary turning in her grave

The proposal to bring the body of Mary, Queen of Scots, back to Scotland and bury it at Falkland Palace is ... ill-considered, writes Gerald Warner. The Stone of Destiny this is not. Any comparison is unfounded. The Stone was an intrinsic part of Scotland's heritage, taken by force by an invader. It was stolen property and, as such, required to be restored to its rightful location. The body of the Queen is a different matter.

The motion [in the Scottish Parliament] notes support "from the Catholic Church". James MacMillan, the Catholic composer, has said the return of Mary's body would be a "profoundly religious and spiritual event". How can he believe that? MacMillan, to his great credit, has been vociferous in condemning the travesty of a liturgy that is the legacy of the Second Vatican Catastrophe. Can he not imagine the field day the liturgical animators and sanctuary can-can dancers would have, capering around the royal catafalque, singing banal, happy-clappy rubbish, with a few bars of Simon and Garfunkel thrown in for the more traditionally inclined?

The main objection, however, is that it would diminish Mary. Besides being Queen of Scots, she was also Queen Mary II de jure of England. Elizabeth I was the bastard daughter of Henry VIII and his mistress Anne Boleyn, born out of wedlock, then spuriously legitimised by a bigamous marriage. That was why Mary, throughout her imprisonment in England, was the centre of plots – not to restore her to the Scottish crown, but to install her on the throne of England. She died for that rightful claim and for the Catholic faith.

Full story at Scotland on Sunday.