HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

  ( CHAPTER  2 )  -  { PT.  38 } - People flocked from all parts to interview her, and even Cranmer pretended to be impressed by her statements. She and any of her principal supporters were arrested and condemned to death ( Nov. 1534 ). It was hoped that by her confession it might be possible to placate Bishop Fisher, who was specially hated be Henry on account of the stand he had made on the question of the marriage, and the late Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More. Both had met the nun, but had been careful to avoid everything that could be construed even remotely as treason. In the Act of Attainder introduced into Parliament against Elizabeth Barton and her confederates, the names of Fisher and More were included, but so strong was the feeling in Mores, favour that his name was erased. Fisher, although able to clear himself from all reasonable grounds of suspicion, was found guilty of misprision to treason and condemned to pay a fine of &300. Fisher and More...

( CHAPTER  2 )  -  { PT.  37 } - Finally after various consultations with the Cardinals, sentence was given declaring the marriage with Catharine valid and the children born to that marriage legitimate ( 23rd March, 1534 ). When the news of this decision reached England Henry was alarmed. He feared that the Emperor might declare war at any moment, that an imperial army might be landed on the English shores, and that Francis I. yielding to the entreaties of the Pope might make common cause with the imperialists. Orders were given to strengthen te fortifications, and to hold the fleet in readiness. Agents were dispatched to secure the neutrality of France, and preachers were commanded to denounce the Bishop of Rome. As matters stood, however, there was no need for such alarm. The Emperor had enough to engage his attention in Spain and Germany, and the enmity between Charles V. and the King of France was too acute to prevent them from acting together even in defence of ...

( CHAPTER  2 )  -  { PT.  35 } - The marriage with Catharine was declared null and void by Parliament on the ground principally that no man could dispense with God's law, and to prevent such incestuous unions in the future a list of the forbidden degrees was drawn up, and ordered to be exhibited in the public churches. To question the marriage of Henry with Anne Boleyn by writing, word, deed, or act was declared to be high treason, and all persons should take an oath acknowledging the succession under pain of misprision of treason. That the Parliament was forced to adopt these measures against its own better judgment is clear from the small number of members who  took their seats in the House of Lords, as well as from the fact that some of the Commoners assured the imperial ambassador that were his master to invade England he might count on considerable support.  In Rome the agents of Francis I., fearing that an alliance between France and England would be ...

( CHAPTER  2 )  -  { PT.  35 } - When a bishopric became vacant, the chapter having received the / Conge d elire / should proceed to elect the person named in the royal letters accompanying the / Conge /, and the person so elected should be presented to the metropolitan for consecration. In case of a metropolitan See, the archbishop-elect should be consecrated by another metropolitan and two bishops or by four bishops appointed by the crown. Another Act was passed forbidding the payment of Peter's Pence and all other fees and pensions paid formerly to Rome. The Archbishop of Canterbury was empowered to grant dispensations, and the penalties of Praemunire were levelled against all persons who should apply for faculties to the Pope. By a third Act a prohibition against appeals to Rome was renewed, although it was permitted to appeal from the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury of Chancery. Convocation was forbidden to enact any new ordinances without the consent of t...

( CHAPTER  2 )  -  { PT.  34 } - Throughout the whole proceedings he had espoused warmly Henry's cause, in the belief that England, having broken completely with Catharine's nephew Charles V., might be forced to conclude an alliance with France; but he never wished that Henry VIII. should set the Holy See at defiance, or that England should be separated from the Catholic Church. To the Pope and ton Henry he had addressed his remonstrances and petitions in turn, but events had reached such a climax that mediation was almost an impossibility. The interview arranged between the Pope and Francis I. took place at Marseilles in October 1533. Regardless of all the rules of diplomatic courtesy and of good manners, Henry's representative forced his way into the presence of the Pope, and announced to him that the King of England had appealed from the verdict of Rome to the judgment of a General Council. Notices of this appeal were posted up in London, and preachers were ordere...

  ( CHAPTER  2 )  -  { PT.  33 } - On her refusal to plead she was condemned as contumacious. Sentence was given by the Archbishop that her marriage with Henry was invalid 23rd April 1533 ). Cranmer next turned his attention to Henry's marriage with Anne, and a might be expected, this pliant minister had no difficulty in pronouncing in it's favour. On Whit Sunday ( 1533 ) Anne was crowned as queen in Westminster Abbey. The popular feeling in London and throughout the kingdom was decidedly hostile to the new queen and to the French ambassador, who was blamed for taking sides against Catharine, but Henry was so confident of his own power that he was unmoved by the conduct of the London mob. In September, to the great disappointment of the king who had been led by the astrologers and sorcerers to believe that he might expect the advent of an heir, a daughter was born to whom was given the name Elizabeth. The Pope, acting on the request of the French and English amb...

  ( CHAPTER  2 )  -  { PT.  32 } - An offer was made to raise E200,000 for the king's use if only he would refer the whole question to a General Council, but in the end, partly by deception regarding the attitude of the Pope and the Emperor, the opposition was induced to give way and the bill became law. But this Act it was declared that the realm of England should be governed by one supreme head and king, to whom both spirituality and temporality were bound to yield, next to God a natural and humble obedience, that the English Church was competent to manage its own affairs without the interference of foreigners, and that all spiritual cases should be heard and determined by the king's jurisdiction and authority. [ 26 ] The question of the divorce was brought before the Convocation in March 1533, and though Fisher spoke out boldly in defence of Catharine's marriage, his brethren failed to support him, and Convocation declared against the legitimacy of the marria...