Letter to the King

The Protestant Truth Society has written to His Majesty King Charles III in relation to the King’s recent visit to Rome and the Vatican.

24th October 2025

Sir,

I am writing on behalf of the Protestant Truth Society to express our grave concern, as faithful and loyal Protestants, at your Majesty’s visit to the Vatican.

At your coronation your Majesty made a promise before God to maintain the Protestant Reformed Religion. A promise made before God is a matter of the utmost importance. This visit to the Vatican is a breach of that promise. Article 31 of the Church of England, of which you are, under God, Supreme Governor, makes plain that the centraldoctrine of the Church of Rome, the mass, is a ‘blasphemous deceit and a dangerous fable’. The Church of Rome is in error on the sacraments and on the great central issue of salvation, justification. The apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans declares that we are ‘justified by faith without the deeds of the law’ – Romans 3:28. Article 11 states ‘that we are justified by faith only is a most wholesome doctrine and very full of comfort’. The Westminster Confession of the Church of Scotland states that ‘faith is the alone instrument of justification’. The Church of Rome denies this great truth.

 
Further, this is a state visit to the Pope as a ‘head of state’. The Papacy claims a political authority that is only held by Jesus Christ – who is the King of kings. The bull ‘Unam Sanctam’ asserts the political authority of the Pope over all monarchs and presidents. This is something that no Protestant Head of State should accept. The authority of any church must be judged by the Word of God. Where any church departs from the word of God on the central doctrines of salvation it must be judged to be a false church. The Pope is the leader of a false church. His claims to political authority seek to usurp the authority of Christ, who, at his return, will be the judge of all men. Kings, prime ministers and presidents are accountable to him.

We would urge your Majesty to be faithful to this nation’s Christian constitution – which is based on the authority of God’s inspired word. All authority, ultimately, lies with him and he has spoken, and continues to speak, through his living word. Where God has spoken we must obey. And we must oppose those powers, such as the Papacy, which are false to the great truths of Scripture, and which claim an authority that belongs to God alone.

The second psalm tells us that all in political authority will have to give an account for the discharge of their duty – ‘Be wise now therefore, O ye kings … serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him’. We would urge your Majesty to turn to him who is the King of kings. Only he can forgive our sins, and he can give your Majesty strength to be faithful to the promises that you made in his name at your coronation. For ‘there is no other name by which we must be saved’ – Acts 4:12.

I have the honour to be, Sir, Your Majesty’s humble and obedient servant.


Edward J. Malcolm (Rt Rev)

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