His response to the Queen Elizabeth I of England assuming position of the Supreme Governor of the Church of England included support of the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots and her supporters in their attempts to take over England ""ex turpissima muliebris libidinis servitute"" "from a most sordid slavery to a woman's voracity". A brief English Catholic uprising, the Rising of the North, had just failed. Pius then issued a Papal bull, "Regnans in Excelsis" ("Reigning on High"), dated 27 April 1570, that declared Elizabeth I a heretic and released her subjects from their allegiance to her. It was the official decree of excommunication on her and it also declared an ipso facto excommunication on anyone who did not deny allegiance to her. In response, Elizabeth, who had thus far tolerated Catholic worship in private, now actively started persecuting them for treason.