St. Thomas More Appointed Patron Saint of Politicians » Queens Politics St. Thomas More Appointed Patron Saint of Politicians Categories: by Queens-Politics November 1, 2011 On this All Saints Day I encourage all politicians to look into the life of St. Thomas More a man of great virtue, a politico of the 16th century, and an enlightened statesman. Happy All Saints Day. Sometimes when in doubt we can fall back on faith. The Catholic church has Patron Saint for almost everything, even politicians. Saints are holy people that have lived extraordinary lives. Saints are Servants of God, canonized by the Church for their beatific vision so that they may show us the example for a righteous life’s path. On All Saints Day we as Catholics honor all of them. Catholics believe in the intercession of Saints. We can pray to Saints to lobby God directly, or to intercede on His behalf. Christians from around the world know them for their optimism. If there’s trouble and you need a little help, chances are there is a Patron Saint for your problem. For example, if you’re a youthful offender of the criminal justice system, you can pray to St.

Dominic Savio, the Patron Saint of juvenile delinquents, or if you’re a dashing reporter and your editor starts bitchin’ about comma usage you can pray to St. Francis de Sales the Patron Saint of writers and journalists. Is there a plan you know may not win? St. Jude the Patron Saint of lost causes is there for us. Need a taxi? Say a quick prayer to St. Fiacre, the Patron Saint of taxi drivers. Is your business about to take a nosedive? Talk to St. Homobonus, the Patron Saint of business people. We need Saint-like politicians in government. The word to describe the New York State legislature is dysfunctional, according to the Brennan Center For Justice. Waste, pork, fraud, theft, mismanagement, violence, all the deadly sins, and we have more politicians indicted than any other state legislature, it’s an embarrassment.

On the bright side, Jerremy Creelan, well known in the circle of legislative critics, was appointed by Governor Cuomo in 2010 as his adviser on creative strategies to help stop the future Brian Mcloughlins, Hiram Monserattes, Tony Semenerios, Gregory Meeks, Anthony Weiners, Dennis Gallaghers, Alan Hevesis, Joe Brunos, and Pedro Espadas of the world. Has it worked? Creelan’s appointment was questionable. After all, this was the same man that in 2004 called the legislature the most dysfunctional in the nation based on failure to hold public meetings, lack of debate, and proxy voting. Jeffrey Stonecash, a well respected political scientist and Professor at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University said Creelan had “a very simple, high school notion of how it works,” according to a report . There are some problems in Albany and then there are the politicians we elect to represent us. The new cadre of elects have failed on legislative reform. We can debate the type of reform and the need for reform until we are blue in the face. Facts are all candidates who ran on a platform of legislative and ethics reform have failed miserably.

“Legistlative reform isn’t going well,” said Senator Tony Avella in March, 2011. Many ‘reform’ campaigns were bankrolled by the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee , or the Senate’s equivalent . two of the many questionable components of our Polis that candidates demonized during the last election. On the Assembly level it is known as DACC for short. Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver is the honorary chair. The purpose is to “Help Democratic candidates across the state win Assembly elections by providing financial assistance and strategic direction.” Many candidates eagerly await their palm cards and mailers, which cost an arm and a leg. This money comes from individuals and groups who support the Assembly’s Democratic majority, according to the website. It’s a checkbook to elect selected candidates. This means goodbye citizen legislator, unless you can put your money where your mouth is, DACC will rain a shit storm down on your campaign faster than you can stuff an envelope. There is hope beyond these fruitless means. In 2000, the late Pope John Paul II proclaimed Sir Thomas More the Patron Saint of Politicians, and thank God he did that.

The Pope wanted to set the bar high by selecting a Saint that would raise the moral standard for elected officials. Pope John Paul wanted to remind politicians ”of the absolute priority of God in the heart of public affairs,” according to a report in the New York Times . Politicians can spin Saint Thomas More’s moral authority, but you don’t hear too much of it from the Democratic party as those with deep religious convictions tend to gravitate toward the Republican party who’s platform will more often than not reflect the teachings of Catholic dogma. On this All Saints Day I encourage all politicians to look into the like of St. Thomas More a man of great virtue, a politico of the 16th century, and an enlightened statesman. Happy All Saints Day. Patron Saint of Politicians | ChainzOnline Religious-Jewelry Blog ChainzOnline Religious-Jewelry Blog Patron Saint of Politicians By DaveS | October 9, 2008 Well… given the upcoming presidential election and the recent $700B bailout out bill I thought it might be a nice idea to remind politicians, government officials we elect, of who their patron saint is… St Thomas More.

In the event you didn’t already know, Sir Thomas More was indeed a politician. Born in London in 1478 and studied law at Oxford and became Lord Chancellor of England. He’s also the patron saint of lawyers. Tried and convicted of treason (politicians take note of this) he was beheaded on July 6, 1535. I really don’t expect many politicians, lawyers or other government officials to be reading this nor do I wish to push any religious beliefs in your direction. But especially during these troubled times a bit of divine intervention, a little patronly direction for doing what’s right, (whether or not you believe in such a thing) wouldn’t be such a bad thing would it? Here’s a prayer to Saint Thomas More I found at I found rather appropriate… Pray that, for the glory of God and in the pursuit of His justice, I may be trustworthy with confidences, keen in study, accurate in analysis, correct in conclusion, able in argument, loyal to clients, honest with all, courteous to adversaries, ever attentive to conscience. Sit with me at my desk and listen with me to my clients’ tales.

Read with me in my library and stand always beside me so that today I shall not, to win a point, lose my soul. Pray that my family may find in me what yours found in you: friendship and courage, cheerfulness and charity, diligence in duties, counsel in adversity, patience in pain—their good servant, and God’s first. Amen. BBC News | EUROPE | Politicians get a patron saint Thursday, 26 October, 2000, 19:30 GMT 20:30 UK Politicians get a patron saint Sir Thomas was beheaded at the Tower of London By David Willey in Rome Pope John Paul II has announced that he is to declare Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England during the reign of Henry VIII, the patron saint of statesmen and politicians.

I think this is a coming of age for the Catholic Church in England today and I am sure that Thomas More, from his celestial vantage point, was smiling with approval Catholic member of Britain's House of Lords Lord Alton Just over four-and-a-half centuries ago Thomas More, a lawyer and politician who rose to one of the highest offices of state, was beheaded at the Tower of London for refusing to recognise the King of England's supremacy in spiritual affairs. He was made a saint of the Roman Catholic Church in 1936 and now, in response to a request to the Pope from politicians and former heads of state in many countries, he will be solemnly declared protector of the world's politicians. Sir Thomas has been venerated as saint by the Anglican Church since 1980 and his popularity as a hero of conscience who refused to compromise his personal beliefs is now being given universal recognition by the Catholic Church. Tribute The former Italian President, Francesco Cossiga, was one of those who petitioned the Pope for the English statesman to be chosen for this honour.

The Pope will sign the declaration on 31 October And Lord Alton, a Catholic member of Britain's House of Lords, came to pay his own tribute at the Vatican. "By a peculiar sense of appropriate timing, on Monday of this week the very first Catholic since the Reformation, since the time of Thomas More, was elected as the Speaker of the House of Commons. "And I think this is a coming of age for the Catholic Church in England today and I am sure that Thomas More, from his celestial vantage point, was smiling with approval of that decision," Lord Alton said. The Pope will sign the document declaring Sir Thomas the patron of the world's politicians on 31 October. It is all part of the jubilee celebrations being organised in Rome for members of parliament and politicians from many countries during this special millennium year of pilgrimage. Search BBC News Online Pope makes bigoted papal persecutor the patron saint of politicians!! Sir Thomas More became Lord Chancellor after the Fall of Cardinal Wolsey Cardinal Wolsey (1475-1530). Hampton Court Palace was the magnificent home of this humble servant of Jesus. After Henry VII died from poisoning, his son Henry VIII became king.

Henry was a "party animal" and all he cared about was hunting, hawking, jousting, banqueting, dancing, masquerading, and keeping an eye on the beautiful girls in the Court. He left the running of the country to two powerful papists: Cardinal Wolsey and Sir Thomas More while he concentrated on obtaining a male heir to the throne!! Wolsey was king in England and the only thing he lacked was the Papal crown....However, he did not realize that the Emperor Charles V would never allow an Englishman to be elected Pope lest he ignore the Bull of Borgia and send a colony to the New World. When Henry's eye caught the beautiful saintly Anne Boleyn, he wanted to dump Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne. He ordered Wolsey to obtain a divorce. The Emperor's troops invaded Rome in the year 1527, and blocked any attempt by Wolsey to obtain the divorce. This led to the downfall of Wolsey and his resignation as Lord Chancellor. More took his place as Chancellor. One of Sir Thomas More's houses in London. By day he hunted heretics and by night he wrote books refuting Saint Martin Luther and Saint William Tyndale.

This house of More in London had a TREE OF TROTH which More used as a whipping post. The porters' lodge in the gatehouse was fitted out with stocks, and with chains and fetters, to pinion suspects while he interrogated them. More whipped himself frequently and wore a hair shirt next to his skin to torture himself. In this way he believed that he was atoning for his many sins: "Meg used to wash the bloodstains from his shirt. 'He sometimes used to punish his body with whips, the cords knotted,' his son-in-law William Roper wrote, 'which was known only to my wife, his eldest daughter, whom for her secrecy above all other he specially trusted, causing her as need required to wash the same shirt of hair'" (Moynahan, God's Bestseller, p. 206). Thomas Hitten was the first be burned alive by Saint Thomas More "There had had been no burnings in England for eight years. More soon put a stop to that. He did not quite condemn his predecessors —"I will not say that the Judges did wrong' —but he made it clear that he thought them lax.

The heretic had been mollycoddled, allowed to escape through recantation and faggot-carrying, and in this the bishops and church officers were "almost more than lawful", in that they admitted him to such an abjuration as they did, and that they did not rather leave him to the secular arm'. He concluded that 'in the condemnation of heretics, the clergy might lawfully do much more sharply than they do'"(Moynahan, God's Bestseller, p. 204). Thomas Hutton was burned alive in 1530, the first of many, many more victims of Saint Thomas More!! "A priest named Thomas Hitton was the first to suffer from More's new `sharpness'. He was seized near Gravesend in January 30 as he was making his way to the coast to take a ship for Antwerp. Hitton had fled to join Tyndale and the English exiles in the Low Countries after becoming a convinced evangelical. He returned to England on a brief visit to contact supporters of Tyndale and to arrange for the distribution of smuggled books.

The first English psalter had been published in Antwerp in January, as well as Tyndale's Pentateuch, in a translation by George Joye that included a commentary 'declarynge brefly thentente and bstance of the wholl psalme'"(Moynahan, God's Bestseller, p. 205). Thomas Bilney was the second victim of Saint Thomas More "Bilney was duly seized in March 1531 and brought in front of Bishop Nix of Norwich. He was convicted of heresy and 'relaxed' to the secular power. Foxe says that More sent down the writ to burn him. Bilney practised for his martyrdom in his cell by burning his fingers in a candle, constantly repeating Isaiah's words: `When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt.' It was nearing harvest time, and he compared himself to the straw in the fields.

`Howsoever the stubble of this my body shall be wasted' by the fire, he told himself, 'yet my soul and spirit shall be purged thereby: a pain for the time, whereupon notwithstanding followeth joy unspeakable.' While he was waiting to be bound to the stake, in the Lollards' sandpit at Norwich, on 19 August 1531, Bilney repeated the creed as proof that he died as a true Christian, and offered up a prayer: `Enter not into judgement with thy servant, 0 Lord, for in thy sight no living flesh can be justified.' (Moynahan, God's Bestseller, pp. 251-252). Richard Bayfield was the third victim of Saint Thomas More "Others were less fortunate. Richard Bayfield was a leading trader in the Testaments and the other Tyndale books, a Cambridge graduate and a former Benedictine monk at Bury St Edmunds, who had taken up evangelical ideas. He had abjured in front of Tunstall in 1528, thus exposing himself to the fire if he lapsed, and had then fled to the Low Countries.

Here, he helped Tyndale and John Frith, the survivor of the Oxford fish cellar, who was now working with Tyndale. Bayfield `brought substance with him', so Foxe recorded, and `sold all their works and the works of the Germans, both in France and England'. Bayfield ran at least three large cargoes of Tyndale's books into England. On his first trip, at midsummer in 1530, he landed illicitly on the east coast and brought the books to London by way of Colchester. The following November he shipped another consignment to St Katherine's docks, less than a thousand yards downriver from the Tower of London. More had wind of this operation and most of the cargo was seized. At Easter 1531, avoiding the Essex coast and the London docks, Bayfield landed in Norfolk and brought his books to London along graziers' roads. Betrayed, he was seized and held in the Tower, shackled to the wall of his cell by his neck, waist and legs, in darkness. More's strange obsession with married heretics resurfaced.

He falsely claimed that Bayfield, 'beynge both a preste and a monke, went about two wyves, one in Brabande [Brabant], a nother in Englande'. Bayfield `fell to heresye and was abiured, and after that lyke a dog returnyng to his vomyte,' More wrote, `and beyng fledde ouer the see, and sendynge from thense Tyndales heresyes hyther with many myschevouse sortes of bokes (Moynahan, God's Bestseller, pp. 259). John Tewkesbury was the fourth victim of Saint Thomas More "Less than three weeks later, the London leather seller John Tewkesbury shared the same fate. He was also betrayed by Constantine. Tewkesbury was held in the porter's lodge at More's Chelsea house, so Foxe wrote, pinioned `hand, foot, and head in the stocks', for six days without release. Foxe claimed that More , had Tewkesbury whipped at 'Jesu's tree' in his garden, `and also twisted his brows with small ropes, so that the blood started out of his eyes'.

This was, of course, the torture also described by Segar; Nicholson. Tewkesbury was then sent to the Tower and racked until he was nearly lame. More led two public examinations of Tewkesbury. He found his prisoner very obstinate. `He couvered and hyd yt [his heresies] by all the meanes he coulde make,' More wrote, `and labored to make euery man wene that he had neuer holden any suche opynyons.' But the lord chancellor's informers had done their work well. 'In, howse was founden Tyndales boke of obedyence, and hyswykked boke also of the wykked mammoma,' More gloated, noting that, after the discovery, Tewkesbury said `at hys examynacyon, that all the heresyes therein were good and crysten fayth, beynge in dede, as full of false heresyes, and as frantike as ewer heretyke made any syth cryst was borne'. How did More winkle'. that out of him?

For later, `when he was in the shyryffes warde, and at the tyme of his deth,' More remarked, `he wolde not speke of hys heresyes any thynge but handled hym selfe as couertly as he coude ...'. As was now usual, More taunted Tyndale over Tewkesbury's (Moynahan, God's Bestseller, pp. 260). James Bainham was the fifth victin of Saint Thomas More "'I come hither, good people,' he said to the crowd, 'accused and condemned for a heretic, Sir Thomas More being my accuser and my judge.' He then spoke of the beliefs for which he was to die. Foxe claims that he ticked off all the main evangelical articles. 'First, I say it is lawful for every man and woman, to have God's book in their mother tongue. Second, that the bishop of Rome is Antichrist ...

there is no purgatory, but the purgatory of Christ's blood, for our souls immediately go to heaven and rest with Jesus Christ for ever ...' At this, the town clerk, Master Pave, said: 'Thou liest, thou heretic! Thou deniest the blessed sacrament of the altar.' Bainham retorted that he did not deny the sacrament of Christ's body and blood, but only 'your idolatry to the bread, and that Christ God and man should dwell in a piece of bread ...'. At that, Pave ordered: 'Set fire to him and burn him.' As the train of gunpowder came towards him, Bainham lifted up his eyes and hands to heaven, and said to Pave: `God forgive tee, and show thee more mercy than thou showest to me. The Lord forgive Sir Thomas More! and pray for me, all good people ...'With that, the fire 'took his bowels and his head'" (Moynahan, God's Bestseller, p. 265). During his short reign as Lord Chancellor, More had at least 10 Reformed Christians burned alive.

Countless more were permanently maimed by his tortures in the Tower. More found that public burnings were actually spreading the Faith so he resorted to more subtler means such as poisoning. More's final target was Saint William Tyndale More's one all consuming passion was to add Tyndale's name to his list of burn victims....To accomplish this he spared not his money nor his time....His network of paid informers and spies were everywhere. God spared the life of Saint William until 1536 when most of the Old Testament was completed. Saint William Tyndale (1494-1536). Saint William Tyndale (1494-1536) is the father of the English Bible, the father of the English language and the father of the English Reformation. Without controversy, he is the greatest Englishman that ever lived!! He was born in Gloustershire, England, not far from Bristol. He graduated with a Master of Arts from Oxford University in 1515. A brilliant man, he was fluent in 8 languages: Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Italian, German, Spanish, English, French.

An exile from his own country, he learned German from Martin Luther in Wittenberg and Hebrew while on the run from Sir Thomas More. His life's ambition was to give the English people the Bible in their own language. In a theological discussion with a fellow clergyman about the Scriptures, Saint William Tyndale gave his timeless reply: "It was not long after, but Master Tyndale happened to be in the company of a certain divine, recounted for a learned man, and, in communing and disputing with him, he drave him to that issue, that the said great doctor burst out into these blasphemous words, and said, “We were better to be without God’s laws than the pope’s.” Master Tyndale, hearing this, full of godly zeal, and not bearing that blasphemous saying, replied again, and said, “I defy the pope, and all his laws;” and further added, that if God spared him life, ere many years he would cause a boy that driveth the plough, to know more of the Scripture than he did” (Foxe, Acts & Monuments, vol. 5, p. 207).

More offered what amounted to the present day equivalent of a million dollars to capture Saint William Tyndale. Finally his bribes paid off. A Judas named Henry Philipps betrayed Master Tyndale to the police in Antwerp, Belgium, and William was arrested and thrown into a foul cell. There he languished for 16 months in cold and hunger until he was taken out and burnt alive. The Burning of Saint William Tyndale Burning of Saint William Tyndale. As the flames consumed him he prayed "Lord, open the eyes of the king of England." This prayer was answered within a year by the issue, under royal authority, of the whole Bible in English. Tyndale Park, Vilvoorde, Belgium. This is the place, just north of Brussels, where Saint William Tyndale gave his life so that the world could have LIGHT. "To scatter Roman darkness by this light The loss of land and life I'll reckon slight." 6 Words that Sir Thomas More hated!! Thomas More HATED every singe Word of God that Saint William translated from Greek into English but he had special enmity for 6 translated words: CONGREGATION, LOVE, REPENTANCE, ELDER, IMAGES, FAULT.

Tyndale translated Matt. 16:18 like this: "And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter: and upon this rock I will build my CONGREGATION and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."(Matt. 16:18). Tyndale correctly translated the Greek word ekklesia as congregation. Rome claimed from this ONE verse that Jesus made Peter the head of the "church." Then Peter was supposed to have gone to Rome and founded the "church" there. The entire Papal system was built on this ONE verse. By using CONGREGATION instead of "church" Tyndale was demolishing the entire organization. In the Old Testament, the assembly of God's people was called the CONGREGATION of the Lord over 360 times. Jesus did not come to start a new "church" or a new "congregation." In the Old Testament the congregation of the Lord was based on RACE e.g., the Jewish race. In the New Testament the congregation was opened to ALL NATIONS and is based on GRACE....not race.

The Bible is ONE complete book and all the words that were used in the Old Testament were carried over into the New e.g., sacrifice, covenant, commandments, atonement, elder. tabernacle, etc., etc. The word congregation was the perfect word to describe the assembly of God's people in the Old Testament . . . and the New. Tyndale translated I Cor. 13:13 like this: "Now abide faith, hope, and LOVE, even these three: but the chief of these is LOVE" (I Cor. 13:13). He corrected translated the Greek word AGAPE as love....Charity had the meaning of good works e.g. giving money to the "church" in order to get you into Heaven. Tydale translated I Peter 5:1 like this: "The ELDERS which are among you, I exhort, which am also an elder and a witness of the afflictions of Christ" (I Peter 5:1). More was mad because Tyndale correctly translated the Greek word PRESBUTEROS as elder instead of PRIEST. Even the Latin Vulgate says seniores!!

Tyndale translated Mark 1:14-15 like this: "After John was taken, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying: the time is come, and the kingdom of God is at hand, REPENT and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15). He correctly translated the Greek work METANOEHO as repent or change your mind. The Latin Vulgate had paenitemini or do PENANCE. Doing penance was a cardinal doctrine of Rome. Tyndale translated II Cor.6:16 like this: "What concord hath Christ with Belial? (BAAL). Either what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? how agreeth the temple of God with IMAGES? And ye are the temple of the living God." Everywhere Saint William found the Greek word EIDOLON he correctly translated it as IMAGES. Tyndale translated James 5:16 like this: "Knowledge or (acknowledge) your FAULTS one to another" (James 5:16). He correctly translated the Greek word PARAPTOMA as faults . . . not sins.

Confessing sins to a priest was another cardinal doctrine of Rome. The confessional has been called The Destroyer of Nations. Millions of females have been ruined by the filthy questions that the priest is REQUIRED to ask them during confession. The only person in the entire Bible who confessed his sins to another man was Judas Iscariot. "Then Judas which had betrayed him, when he saw that he (Jesus) was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to it" (Matthew 27:3-4). Judas went out immediately and hanged himself. If he had confessed his sins to God he would have been forgiven!! Official Chronology of Saint William Tyndale Date Tyndale becomes a priest in the Roman Catholic church. 1522 He enters the household of Sir John Walsh, Old Sodbury, Gloucestershire, as chaplain and domestic tutor. In his leisure time, he preaches in the surrounding countryside including BRISTOL.

He is persecuted by the lazy, ignorant clergy so he decides that the only way to reform the church was make the Scriptures available to the people in their own language. He decides to move to London and get the help of the bishop of London in order to do the translation of the Bible. 1523 Arrives in London and seeks the help of Cuthbert Tunstall, bishop of London, to help with the translation. Little did he realize that Tunstall was a puppet of Wolsey and More . . . and the LAST thing they wanted was any thing to do with the Bible. As Tyndale himself said: "not only that there was no room in my lorde of londons palace to translate the new testament, but also that there was no place to do it in all England." 1524 Tyndale leaves England and goes immediately to Wittenberg, Germany. He learns German in about 6 months and is able to read the incomparable German translation of Martin Luther. He completes the translation of the New Testament into English. 1525 Tyndale arrives in the port city of Cologne, Germany, and begins to print the New Testament for shipment to England.

Thousands of copies are smuggled into England. The bishop of London sends spies to arrest Tyndale but he flees upriver to the city of Worms. 1524 Tyndale arrives in the city of Worms and continues his printing of the New Testament. At Worms, he began to study Hebrew with the intent of translating the Old Testament into English. 1528 Tyndale publishes his masterpiece The Obedience of the Christian Man. It lays out the 2 great principles of the Reformation: the supremacy of the Scriptures over the congregation, and the king over the State. Saint Anne Boleyn gives a copy of the book to King Henry VIII and he LOVES it. 1529 Sir Thomas More becomes Chancellor of England. He describes Tyndale as "a hell-hound of the kennel of the devil who discharged blasphemies of his brutish, bestely mouth." He puts a million dollar contract out on Tyndale. 1535 On May 21, Tyndale is betrayed by a false brother named Henry Philipps . Henry Philipps was in the employ of his paymaster, Sir Thomas More.

Philipps pretended friendship to Tyndale and at an opportune time had him arrested and imprisoned. 1536 On the morning of October 6, Saint William Tyndale is burned in the town of Vilvoorde near Brussels, Belgium. As he was burning he prayed "Lord, open the eyes of the king of England." Vital Links The corrupt Latin Vulgate Online Editor's Note Jesus did not come to start a new "church" or a new "congregation." In the Old Testament the congregation of the Lord was based on RACE e.g., the Jewish race. In the New Testament, the congregation of the Lord is opened to ALL NATIONS and is based on GRACE....not race. References Ackroyd, Peter, The Life of Thomas More, Doubleday & Co., New York, 1998. Daniell, David, William Tyndale A Biography, Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 1994. Daniell, David, Tyndale's New Testament, Yale University Press, 1989.

Foxe, John (1516-1587) Acts and Monuments, 8 volumes, reprinted by AMS Press, New York, 1965. Moynahan, Brian, God's Bestseller, St. Martin's Press, New York, 2002. Strong, James, LL.D., The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MASS., 1970. Copyright © 2007 by Niall Kilkenny Catherine of Aragon - the King's Great Matter Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon: The King's Great Matter The First Divorce of Henry VIII Henry VIII's divorce, Cardinal Wolsey with Catherine of Aragon, 1533, by Eugene Deveria (1805-1865). DEA / G.

DAGLI ORTI / Getty Images Continued from: Catherine of Aragon: Marriage to Henry VIII The End of a Marriage With England allied against Catherine's nephew, the Emperor Charles V, and with Henry VIII desperate for a legitimate male heir, the marriage of Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII, once a supportive and, it seemed, loving relationship, unraveled. Henry had begun his flirtation with Anne Boleyn sometime in 1526 or 1527. Anne's sister, Mary Boleyn, had been Henry's mistress, and Anne had been a lady-in-waiting to Henry's sister, Mary, when she was Queen of France, and later a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon herself. Anne resisted Henry's pursuit, refusing to become his mistress. Henry, after all, wanted a legitimate male heir. Always Invalid? By 1527, Henry was citing Biblical verses Leviticus 18:1-9 and Leviticus 20:21, interpreting these to mean that his marriage to his brother's widow explained his lack of a male heir by Catherine.

That was the year, 1527, when Charles V's army sacked Rome and took Pope Clement VII prisoner. continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as well as king of Spain, was the nephew of Catherine of Aragon -- his mother was Catherine's sister, Joanna (known as Juana the Mad). Henry VIII saw this as an opportunity to go to the bishops who could use the Pope's "incapacity" to themselves rule that Henry's marriage to Catherine had not been valid. In May of 1527, with the Pope still a prisoner of the Emperor, Cardinal Wolsey held a trial to examine whether the marriage was valid. John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, refused to support Henry's position. In June of 1527, Henry asked Catherine for a formal separation, offering her an opportunity to retire to a nunnary. Catherine did not accept Henry's suggestion that she retire quietly so that he could remarry, on the grounds that she remained the true queen. Catherine asked her nephew Charles V to intervene and to try to influence the pope to refuse any request of Henry's to annul the marriage.

Appeals to the Pope Henry sent an appeal with his secretary to Pope Clement VII in 1528, asking for his marriage to Catherine to be annulled. (This is often referred to as a divorce, but technically, Henry was asking for an annulment, a finding that his first marriage had not been a true marriage.) The request was amended quickly to also ask that the Pope permit Henry to marry "within the first degree of affinity" though not a brother's widow, and permit Henry to marry someone previously contracted to marry if the marriage was never consummated. These circumstances fit the situation with Anne Boleyn completely. He had previously had a relationship with Anne's sister, Mary. Henry continued to muster scholarly and expert opinions to refine and extend his arguments. Catherine's argument against Henry's was simple: she simply affirmed that her marriage to Arthur had never been consummated, which would make the whole argument about consanguinity moot. Campeggi's Trial The Pope was no longer a prisoner of the Emperor, Catherine's nephew, in 1529, but he was still largely under the control of Charles. He sent his legate, Campeggi, to England to try to find some alternate solution.

Campeggi convened a court in May of 1529 to hear the case. Both Catherine and Henry appeared and spoke. That Catherine knelt before Henry and appealed to him is likely an accurate depiction of that event. But after that, Catherine stopped cooperating with Henry's legal actions. She left the court hearings and refused to return another day when ordered to do so. Campeggi's court adjourned without a verdict. It did not reconvene. Catherine had continued to live at court, though Henry was often with Anne Boleyn. She even continued to make Henry's shirts, which enraged Anne Boleyn. Henry and Catherine fought publicly. The End of Wolsey Henry VIII had trusted his chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, to handle what was called "the King's Great Matter." When Wolsey's work did not result in the action Henry expected, Henry dismissed Cardinal Wolsey from his position as chancellor. Henry replaced him with a lawyer, Thomas More, rather than a clergyman. Wolsey, charged with treason, died the next year before he could be tried. Henry continued to marshal arguments for his divorce.

In 1530, an treatise by a scholarly priest, Thomas Cranmer, that defended Henry's annulment, came to Henry's attention. Cranmer advised that Henry rely on the opinions of scholars in European universities rather than on the Pope. Henry increasingly relied on Cranmer's counsel. The Pope, instead of responding positively to Henry's plea for a divorce, issued an order forbidding Henry from marrying until Rome came to a final decision on the divorce. The Pope also ordered secular and religious authorities in England to stay out of the matter. So, in 1531, Henry held a clerical court that declared Henry the "Supreme Head" of the Church of England. This effectively overrode the Pope's authority to make decisions, not only about the marriage itself, but about those in the English church who cooperated with Henry's pursuit of the divorce. Catherine Sent Away On July 11, 1531, Henry sent Catherine to live in relative isolation in Ludlow, and she was cut off from all contact with their daughter, Mary. She never saw Henry or Mary in person again.

In 1532, Henry obtained the support of Francis I, the French king, for his actions, and secretly married Anne Boleyn. Whether she became pregnant before or after that ceremony is not certain, but she was definitely pregnant before the second wedding ceremony on January 25, 1533. Catherine's household was moved several times to different locations on Henry's orders, and such close friends as her long-time companion (from before Catherine's marriage to Henry) Maria de Salinas were forbidden contact with Mary. Another Trial A new Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, then convened a clerical court in May of 1533, and found Henry's marriage to Catherine null. Catherine refused to appear at the hearing. Catherine's title of Dowager Princess of Wales was restored -- as Arthur's widow -- but she refused to accept that title. Henry reduced her household further, and she was moved again. On May 28, 1533, he declared Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn to be valid.

Anne Boleyn was crowned as Queen on June 1, 1533, and on September 7, gave birth to a daughter they named Elizabeth, after both her grandmothers. Catherine's Supporters Catherine had much support, including Henry's sister, Mary , married to Henry's friend Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. She was also more popular with the general public than was Anne, seen as a usurper and interloper. Women seemed especially likely to support Catherine. The visionary Elizabeth Barton, called "the nun of Kent," was charged with treason for her outspoken opposition. Sir Thomas Elyot remained an advocate, but managed to avoid Henry's wrath. And she still had the support of her nephew, with his influence over the Pope. Act of Supremacy and Act of Succession When the Pope finally pronounced Henry and Catherine's marriage valid, on March 23, 1534, it was too late to influence any of Henry's actions. Also that month, Parliament passed an Act of Succession (legally described as being 1533, since the calendar year then changed at the end of March). Catherine was sent in May to Kimbolten Castle, with a much-reduced household.

Even the Spanish ambassador was not permitted access to speak with her. In November, Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, recognizing the ruler of England as the supreme head of the Church of England. Parliament also passed an Act Respecting the Oath to the Succession, requiring of all English subjects an oath to support the Act of Succession. Catherine refused to swear any such oath, which would acknowledge Henry's position as head of the church, her own daughter as illegitimate and Anne's children as Henry's heirs. More and Fisher Thomas More, also unwilling to take an oath to support the Act of Succession, and having opposed Henry's marriage to Anne, was charged with treason, imprisoned, and executed. Bishop Fisher, an early and consistent opponent of the divorce and supporter of Catherine's marriage, was also imprisoned for refusing to recognize Henry as head of the church. While in prison, the new Pope, Paul III, made Fisher a cardinal, and Henry hurried Fisher's trial for treason. More and Fisher were both beatified by the Roman Catholic Church in 1886 and canonized in 1935.

Catherine's Last Years In 1534 and 1535, when Catherine heard that her daughter Mary was ill, each time she asked to be able to see her and nurse her, but Henry refused to allow that. Catherine did get word out to her supporters to urge the Pope to excommunicate Henry. When, in December 1535, Catherine's friend Maria de Salinas heard that Catherine was ill, she asked permission to see Catherine. Refused, she forced herself into Catherine's presence anyway. Chapuys, the Spanish ambassador, was also allowed to see her. He left on January 4. On the night of January 6, Catherine dictated letters to be sent to Mary and to Henry, and she died on January 7, in the arms of her friend Maria. Henry and Anne were said to celebrate upon hearing of Catherine's death. After Catherine's Death When Catherine's body was examined after her death, a black growth was found on her heart. The physician of the time pronounced the cause "poisoning" which her supporters seized on as more reason to oppose Anne Boleyn. But most modern experts looking at the record would suggest that a more likely cause was cancer.

Catherine was buried as the Dowager Princess of Wales at Peterborough Abbey on January 29, 1536. Emblems used were of Wales and Spain, not of England. Centuries later, Queen Mary, married to George V, had Catherine's gravesite improved and marked with the title "Katharine Queen of England." Only when Henry married his third wife, Jane Seymour , did Henry invalidate his second marriage to Anne Boleyn and reaffirm the validity of his marriage to Catherine, restoring their daughter Mary to the succession after any later male heirs he might have. About Catherine of Aragon: Catherine of Aragon Facts | Early Life and First Marriage | Marriage to Henry VIII | The King's Great Matter | Catherine of Aragon Books | Mary I | Anne Boleyn | Women in the Tudor Dynasty More women's history biographies, by name: E sancti Thomae Mori - Apostolic Letter in the form of a Motu Proprio (October 31, 2000) | John Paul II PATRON OF STATESMEN AND POLITICIANS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR PERPETUAL REMEMBRANCE 1.

The life and martyrdom of Saint Thomas More have been the source of a message which spans the centuries and which speaks to people everywhere of the inalienable dignity of the human conscience, which, as the Second Vatican Council reminds us, is "the most intimate centre and sanctuary of a person, in which he or she is alone with God, whose voice echoes within them" ( Gaudium et Spes , 16). Whenever men or women heed the call of truth, their conscience then guides their actions reliably towards good. Precisely because of the witness which he bore, even at the price of his life, to the primacy of truth over power, Saint Thomas More is venerated as an imperishable example of moral integrity. And even outside the Church, particularly among those with responsibility for the destinies of peoples, he is acknowledged as a source of inspiration for a political system which has as its supreme goal the service of the human person. Recently, several Heads of State and of Government, numerous political figures, and some Episcopal Conferences and individual Bishops have asked me to proclaim Saint Thomas More the Patron of Statesmen and Politicians.

Those supporting this petition include people from different political, cultural and religious allegiances, and this is a sign of the deep and widespread interest in the thought and activity of this outstanding Statesman. 2. Thomas More had a remarkable political career in his native land. Born in London in 1478 of a respectable family, as a young boy he was placed in the service of the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Morton, Lord Chancellor of the Realm. He then studied law at Oxford and London, while broadening his interests in the spheres of culture, theology and classical literature. He mastered Greek and enjoyed the company and friendship of important figures of Renaissance culture, including Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam. His sincere religious sentiment led him to pursue virtue through the assiduous practice of asceticism: he cultivated friendly relations with the Observant Franciscans of the Friary at Greenwich, and for a time he lived at the London Charterhouse, these being two of the main centres of religious fervour in the Kingdom. Feeling himself called to marriage, family life and dedication as a layman, in 1505 he married Jane Colt, who bore him four children.

Jane died in 1511 and Thomas then married Alice Middleton, a widow with one daughter. Throughout his life he was an affectionate and faithful husband and father, deeply involved in his children’s religious, moral and intellectual education. His house offered a welcome to his children’s spouses and his grandchildren, and was always open to his many young friends in search of the truth or of their own calling in life. Family life also gave him ample opportunity for prayer in common and lectio divina, as well as for happy and wholesome relaxation. Thomas attended daily Mass in the parish church, but the austere penances which he practised were known only to his immediate family. 3. He was elected to Parliament for the first time in 1504 under King Henry VII. The latter’s successor Henry VIII renewed his mandate in 1510, and even made him the Crown’s representative in the capital. This launched him on a prominent career in public administration. During the following decade the King sent him on several diplomatic and commercial missions to Flanders and the territory of present-day France.

Having been made a member of the King’s Council, presiding judge of an important tribunal, deputy treasurer and a knight, in 1523 he became Speaker of the House of Commons. Highly esteemed by everyone for his unfailing moral integrity, sharpness of mind, his open and humorous character, and his extraordinary learning, in 1529 at a time of political and economic crisis in the country he was appointed by the King to the post of Lord Chancellor. The first layman to occupy this position, Thomas faced an extremely difficult period, as he sought to serve King and country. In fidelity to his principles, he concentrated on promoting justice and restraining the harmful influence of those who advanced their own interests at the expense of the weak. In 1532, not wishing to support Henry VIII’s intention to take control of the Church in England, he resigned. He withdrew from public life, resigning himself to suffering poverty with his family and being deserted by many people who, in the moment of trial, proved to be false friends.

Given his inflexible firmness in rejecting any compromise with his own conscience, in 1534 the King had him imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he was subjected to various kinds of psychological pressure. Thomas More did not allow himself to waver, and he refused to take the oath requested of him, since this would have involved accepting a political and ecclesiastical arrangement that prepared the way for uncontrolled despotism. At his trial, he made an impassioned defence of his own convictions on the indissolubility of marriage, the respect due to the juridical patrimony of Christian civilization, and the freedom of the Church in her relations with the State. Condemned by the Court, he was beheaded. With the passing of the centuries discrimination against the Church diminished. In 1850 the English Catholic Hierarchy was re-established. This made it possible to initiate the causes of many martyrs. Thomas More, together with 53 other martyrs, including Bishop John Fisher, was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886. And with John Fisher, he was canonized by Pius XI in 1935, on the fourth centenary of his martyrdom. 4.

There are many reasons for proclaiming Thomas More Patron of statesmen and people in public life. Among these is the need felt by the world of politics and public administration for credible role models able to indicate the path of truth at a time in history when difficult challenges and crucial responsibilities are increasing. Today in fact strongly innovative economic forces are reshaping social structures; on the other hand, scientific achievements in the area of biotechnology underline the need to defend human life at all its different stages, while the promises of a new society — successfully presented to a bewildered public opinion — urgently demand clear political decisions in favour of the family, young people, the elderly and the marginalized. In this context, it is helpful to turn to the example of Saint Thomas More, who distinguished himself by his constant fidelity to legitimate authority and institutions precisely in his intention to serve not power but the supreme ideal of justice. His life teaches us that government is above all an exercise of virtue.

Unwavering in this rigorous moral stance, this English statesman placed his own public activity at the service of the person, especially if that person was weak or poor; he dealt with social controversies with a superb sense of fairness; he was vigorously committed to favouring and defending the family; he supported the all-round education of the young. His profound detachment from honours and wealth, his serene and joyful humility, his balanced knowledge of human nature and of the vanity of success, his certainty of judgement rooted in faith: these all gave him that confident inner strength that sustained him in adversity and in the face of death. His sanctity shone forth in his martyrdom, but it had been prepared by an entire life of work devoted to God and neighbour. Referring to similar examples of perfect harmony between faith and action, in my Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici I wrote: "The unity of life of the lay faithful is of the greatest importance: indeed they must be sanctified in everyday professional and social life.

Therefore, to respond to their vocation, the lay faithful must see their daily activities as an occasion to join themselves to God, fulfil his will, serve other people and lead them to communion with God in Christ" (No. 17). This harmony between the natural and the supernatural is perhaps the element which more than any other defines the personality of this great English statesman: he lived his intense public life with a simple humility marked by good humour, even at the moment of his execution. This was the height to which he was led by his passion for the truth. What enlightened his conscience was the sense that man cannot be sundered from God, nor politics from morality. As I have already had occasion to say, "man is created by God, and therefore human rights have their origin in God, are based upon the design of creation and form part of the plan of redemption. One might even dare to say that the rights of man are also the rights of God" (Speech, 7 April 1998). And it was precisely in defence of the rights of conscience that the example of Thomas More shone brightly.

It can be said that he demonstrated in a singular way the value of a moral conscience which is "the witness of God himself, whose voice and judgment penetrate the depths of man’s soul" (Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor , 58), even if, in his actions against heretics, he reflected the limits of the culture of his time. In the Constitution Gaudium et Spes , the Second Vatican Council notes how in the world today there is "a growing awareness of the matchless dignity of the human person, who is superior to all else and whose rights and duties are universal and inviolable" (No. 26). The life of Saint Thomas More clearly illustrates a fundamental truth of political ethics. The defence of the Church’s freedom from unwarranted interference by the State is at the same time a defence, in the name of the primacy of conscience, of the individual’s freedom vis-à-vis political power. Here we find the basic principle of every civil order consonant with human nature. 5. I am confident therefore that the proclamation of the outstanding figure of Saint Thomas More as Patron of Statesmen and Politicians will redound to the good of society.

It is likewise a gesture fully in keeping with the spirit of the Great Jubilee which carries us into the Third Christian Millennium. Therefore, after due consideration and willingly acceding to the petitions addressed to me, I establish and declare Saint Thomas More the heavenly Patron of Statesmen and Politicians, and I decree that he be ascribed all the liturgical honours and privileges which, according to law, belong to the Patrons of categories of people. Blessed and glorified be Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of man, yesterday, today and for ever. Given at Saint Peter’s, on the thirty-first day of October in the year 2000, the twenty-third of my Pontificate. IOANNES PAULUS PP. II

Question: Who is the patron saint of politicians?
Answer: Sir Thomas More