A conspiracy theorist has claimed Queen Elizabeth II rejoined the Anglican and Catholic churches in 2010 by signing the “Holyrood Agreement” with Pope Benedict XVI.
The claim is false. A church historian and representatives from both churches told AAP FactCheck there is no such agreement, calling it a fantasy and a hoax.
The claim is made in a Facebook video (screenshot here) featuring Canadian author and former Protestant minister Kevin Annett from October 10.
He states: “One thing that the Queen did in 2010, she signed what’s called the Holyrood Agreement with Pope Benedict, who was subsequently forced out, but that agreement set out the terms for the Anglican church to go back into the church of Rome, which was a violation of her coronation oath. But it also meant that really after 2010 those two churches are one and the same” (video mark 2 min).
Queen Elizabeth II met the Pope at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh in 2010, but AAP FactCheck could not find any reports of an agreement associated with the meeting.
All references to the supposed Holyrood Agreement appear primarily on conspiracy theory blogs and mention Annett’s name, as seen here, here, and here.
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford, told AAP FactCheck the claim is “sheer fantasy”.
“I know of no such agreement,” Professor MacCulloch said in an email.
“In 2010 the late Queen and Pope Benedict made appropriate and uncontroversial speeches to each other at Holyrood, easily available online, and that was it.”
Anglican and Catholic church representative also told AAP FactCheck the claim is false.
“There is no truth whatsoever to these claims from the internet,” a Church of England representative said in an email.
The Anglican Church of Australia also said the claim is fanciful.
“I am happy to confirm the story is not correct in any aspect and if such a treaty were signed it would have no effect without legislation passed in the Parliament of the UK,” a representative said in an email
A spokesman from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference said: “You can safely take it that this is a hoax.”
He compared the claim to conspiracy theories about the moon landings and 9-11 terror attacks.
The Church of England became the mother church of the Anglican Communion after the Reformation in the 16th century, when it broke with the Roman Catholic Church under King Henry VIII.
The two churches have been separate ever since, but have been in dialogue through the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission since 1967.
Annett is a former United Church of Canada minister who was removed from the ministry in 1997 after spreading conspiracy theories. He brands himself as a whistleblower, but has become a continued source of misinformation.
AAP FactCheck previously debunked his claim a court issued arrest warrants and sentenced the Queen, Pope Francis and other notable figures for crimes against humanity.
Annett recently claimed King Charles has been summoned to appear before an international tribunal for crimes against humanity, which has also been debunked.
The Verdict
The claim Queen Elizabeth II and Pope Benedict signed an agreement to merge the Anglican and Catholic churches is false. There is no such “Holyrood Agreement”, which appears to be the fabrication of conspiracy theorist Kevin Annett.
An historian and church representatives told AAP FactCheck no such agreement exists, and the churches remain separate as they have been since the 16th century.
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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