THE DECLARATION by Dr George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, that Prince Charles would plunge the Church of England into crisis if he remarried is no more than a statement of truth.

For, on succeeding to the throne, the Prince of Wales would become Supreme Governor of a church whose laws forbid the marriage of a divorced person in church when the former spouse is still alive.

That would either expect the Church to turn a blind eye to such hypocrisy or provoke pressure for its disestablishment.

Yet, in frankly pointing to those eventualities, Dr Carey has come under fire.

He is warned that he could provoke a damaging conflict between the Church and the state if he tried to block a second marriage by the Prince.

But what else is the Archbishop supposed to do - ignore the Church's own rules or pretend they do not exist?

It is, however, significant that all this comes about as an evident propaganda campaign is under way to have the situation glossed over.

The Prince himself has been taking steps to publicly acknowledge, and, no doubt, have accepted or condoned his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.

Government sources have also let it be known that the Prime Minister would be sympathetic to any future marriage.

And witness the publication today of a survey of the country's "top people" - Cabinet ministers among them - which says the Prince should be free to marry whoever he likes and that he should still become the Church's head even if, as King, he was married to a divorcee.

The Archbishop merely responded to this campaign by saying that, as the rules stand, Charles cannot remarry without provoking a crisis.

The notion that Dr Carey should have kept quiet is wrong.

For, surely, there needs to be a debate before a crisis is reached.

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