Catholic boy refuses duty to queen

NEILSTON, Scotland, June 12 (UPI) -- The mother of an 8-year-old Catholic boy in Scotland says he has been told he cannot become a Cub Scout because he refuses to swear allegiance to the queen.

Tracy McVeigh of Neilston, Renfrewshire, told The Daily Mail that her son, Matthew, wanted to change the wording so that he would swear to do his duty to "God and my country" instead of to "God and the Queen."

While McVeigh said that her son was motivated by religion, the Rev. Jim Byers, scouting chaplain in the Paisley Catholic Diocese, said most Catholics are willing to swear. He called Matthew McVeigh's objections "uncharted territory."

The Scouting Association said that Scouts who are not Christian are allowed to change the reference to God to match their religious beliefs. Those who are not British subjects but living in Britain promise to do their duty to the "country in which I am now living."

McVeigh said her family objects to swearing allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II because the 1701 Act of Settlement bars Catholics from the throne.

"I was gobsmacked that the Cub scout commissioner said that if Matthew didn't say the Promise then he would effectively be out the door," she said.