?If the heir to the throne is brought up as a Catholic, and therefore, under the present disciplines of the Roman Catholic Church, is not able to be in communion with the Church of England, it effectively renders a Catholic heir incapable of being the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, so clearly that?s a more complicated issue than it appears at first sight,? he said.
Bishop Stevens said that a change to the Act of Settlement with the potential to disestablish the Church of England would be something that bishops ?would have to resist?.
The Act of Settlement was introduced in 1701 to secure the Protestant succession following the death of Mary II without any heirs and the likelihood that her husband, William III, would also die without an heir, which was what happened.
A second part of the Government?s plans, which the bishops support, would allow a firstborn daughter of Prince William and the Duchess to take precedence over her younger brothers.
Both proposals, announced by the Prime Minister last year, are being approved by the 16 Commonwealth countries which have the Queen as their head of state, and, following that process, are expected to be debated in the next session of Parliament.
Bishop Stevens said he was defending the established Church rather than attempting to ?disadvantage? or ?diminish? the role of Catholics in Britain. He said the proposals, along with plans to legalise gay marriage, which are opposed by senior Anglicans and Roman Catholics, had not been sufficiently considered.
?Most of us would passionately support the principle of equality before the law for gay people, people of religious faiths and so on,? he said. ?But supporting that principle does not necessarily mean that we have to start to unpick the threads that have held us together as a society for a very long time.
?I think if you start to introduce change that questions the place of the established Church or questions marriage as an institution which exists for the good of all society, not just as a private contract between two individuals, then you need to think very hard and long before you do that.?
He said careful negotiation with the Catholic hierarchy would be needed to raise a possibility that an heir with a Catholic parent could still be the Supreme Governor.
Bishop Stevens?s warning follows a series of political interventions by bishops in the Lords this year.
Last week they helped scupper the Government?s attempts to cut ?350 million from Britain?s legal aid bill, which ministers argue is far higher than in comparable countries.
The bishops supported a series of amendments to the Coalition?s legal aid legislation, including a successful proposal to ensure there should be ?access to legal services that effectively meet [people?s] needs? within the resources available to Whitehall.
Bishop Stevens said the proposals would hit some of the same people who face the withdrawal of welfare benefits, arguing the Government's claims that the cuts would reduce the amount of money going to lawyers were ?disingenuous?.
He said: ?We all know that lawyers who base their practises on legal aid are remunerated very much less than those who are commercial lawyers.?
The Bishop said the simultaneous passsage of the legal aid bill together with the health and welfare bills had placed a ?great pressure? on the Lords Spiritual - whose numbers face being cut from 26 to 12.
He said their opposition to particular measures in the bills were justified by their wide experience of the lives of ?ordinary people? in their dioceses.
In January five bishops helped dismantle a key element of the Government?s welfare reforms by supporting the removal of child benefit from the government?s ?26,000 a year benefits cap in the Welfare Reform Bill - although it was reinstated in the Commons.
Bishop Stevens said the role of the bishops in the Government?s defeat had been over-stated, pointing out that although their arguments had an effect on peers their votes alone did not damage the bill.
The bishops also backed changes to the NHS reforms, joining calls for a select committee to examine ?questionable principles? in the Health and Social Care Bill.
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