The Saint Paul globe., 1904-09-27

Clement VII. received even higher
praise than has heretofore been
awarded to that unlucky pontiff; Car
dinal Wolsey was unreseryedly con-
demned last night at the Cathedral, in
a lecture upon ssWolsey and the Di-
vorce," delivered by the noted English
scholar, the Rt. Rev. Francis Aidan
Gasquet, D. D., O. S. B., abbot presi-
dent of the English Benedictines.
A large audience had appeared at
this first of a series of. five lectures
upon church history Few seats were
vacant upon the main floor Of the Ca
thedral.
The gathering found reward in the
erudition Of the-reverend lecturer and
in the harmonious accents of his typi-
cally English voice. The national
characteristics We're also manifest in
the easy elisions of his utterance, a
bit confusing to American ears. A
scholar and not professed orator, the
abbot followed no methods of the
platform. Simply and in low tones he
read his essay from manuscript, which
also in simplicity Of construction re-
fected the sincerity of his mind.
Thirty or forty years ago, said the
abbot, historian was able to say that
the matter Of Henry Wills divorce
from Queen Catherine of Aragon was
fully understood. Since then much
more evidence has come to light and
greater knowledge has brought great
er uncertainty. The historian Froude
in 1891 made lamentable attempt to
prove that the evidence of newly ols-
covered papers supported the views he
had expressed in his history many
years before. The account that salts
he'd Hallam is now discredited.
Five Causes of Divorce
The different theories as to the cause
of the divorce were mainly five-the
scruples of Henry's conscience because
he had married his brothers widow;
Henry's desire to leave behind male
heir; the kings anxiety to wed Anne
Boleyn; the ambition Of Anne's friends
to further their own interests and
those Of the Lutheran faith; the insti-
cation of Wolsey.
Despite the opinions Of Brewer and
Jairdner, the weight of testimony as to
Wolsey's completely, continued DIR. Gas
quet seems overwhelming. Queen
Catherine. herself wrote to Emperor
Charles that the cardinal was the au-
thor of all her misery
Then, after citing many authorities,
the abbot declared, in an ingenious
anti-climax, that whether Wolsey
was to blame or not, is comparatively
unimportant. Those that strive to clear
his honor from that stain forget that it
is blackened with heavier charges. Yet
Shakespeare was, probably correct in
his general estimate of the cardinals
responsibility.
At the time Henry became desirous
of a divorce, Catherine, past forty, was
prematurely old even for southerner.
Hope of a male heir had been aban-
doned. There were serious doubts
whether Mary would be accepted as
heiress to the crown; in fact, until the
days of Elizabeth no English law had
justified queen in ascending the
throne.
Artifice of Henry
Henry's first suggestion was that a
visiting French bishop had expressed
doubts of Mary's legitimacy because
her mother had been the wife OF
Henry's brother. No proof has yet ap-
peared that the bishop said anything
of the kind. But it was a characteris-
tic artifice of Henry's. He followed ii
by insisting, during a considerable pc
riod, that the subsequent investiga-
tions were not intended to secure a
divorce, but to demonstrate the legit-
imacy of his daughter. Even Arch
bishop Walton was thus deceived.
tember, 1927. Wolsey discovered the
kings intentions and protested vainly
Thenceforth the cardinal, to prevent
his own destruction, took sides warmly
against Catherine.
Throughout the negotiations with
Clement the king begged for a decretal
| giving the power to divorce him into
the hands of English churchmen. This
the pope steadfastly refused in the face
of continued threats and persuasions
There is no good evidence, as alleged
that the pope ever sent Henry bull
that permitted the divorce. On the
| contrary, Campeggio. the papal legate
did his best to persuade Henry to give
up the idea of a divorce. Eventually
as is well known. the pope withdrew
the case from England to Rome and
finally declared against the British
! monarch.
After a sketch of the decline and
death of Wolsey, whose treacherous
ambition had availed him nothing, DIR
Gasquet quoted at length the grandly
| pathetic farewell with which the car
dinal leaves the stage.