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| Mary I of England - A Queen for All Religious Liberty Seasons |
Saint Thomas More, patron saint of
Statesmen was a pussy. On his best day of defending Catholicism, he only
burned a handful of Lutherans and or heretics for his King, Henry VIII.
Thomas More is the Martyr most quoted as the
prime example of Catholics to emulate in the present Great Self Delusional,
Self Fulfilling Prophecy Paranoia laden Religious Liberty Campaign to protect whatever
from the reality of the existing dominant global secular non-christian culture.
“The time for easy Christianity is over. In
fact, it never really existed. We’re blessed to be rid of the illusion. We need
to be more zealous in our faith, not more discreet; clearer in our convictions,
not muddier; and more Catholic, not less.” (Archbishop Charles Chaput, p.53 of
Render Unto Caesar)
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Mary (the Great of England)(Henry VIII’s
Daughter) had always rejected the break with Rome instituted by her father and
the establishment of Protestantism by Edward VI. She and her husband wanted
England to reconcile with Rome. Philip persuaded Parliament to repeal the Protestant religious laws passed by Mary's father, thus
returning the English church to Roman jurisdiction.
Reaching an agreement took
many months, and Mary and Pope
Julius III had to make a major
concession: the monastery lands confiscated under Henry were not returned to the church but
remained in the hands of the new landowners, who were very influential. By the end of 1554, the pope had
approved the deal, and the Heresy
Acts were revived.
Under the Heresy Acts, numerous Protestants
were executed in the Marian
Persecutions. Many rich Protestants, including John Foxe, chose exile, and around 800
left the country. The first
executions occurred over a period of five days in early February 1555: John
Rogers on 4 February, Laurence
Saunders on 8 February, and Rowland Taylor and John Hooper on 9 February.
The imprisoned Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer was forced to watch Bishops Ridley and Latimer being burned at the stake.
Cranmer recanted,
repudiated Protestant theology, and rejoined the Catholic faith. Under the normal process of the law, he should have
been absolved as a repentant. Mary, however, refused to reprieve him. On the
day of his burning, he dramatically withdrew his recantation.
All told 283 were executed, most by
burning. The burnings proved so
unpopular, that even Alfonso de
Castro, one of Philip's own ecclesiastical staff, condemned them, and Philip's adviser, Simon Renard, warned him that such
"cruel enforcement" could "cause a revolt".
Mary persevered with the policy, which
continued until her death and exacerbated anti-Catholic and anti-Spanish
feeling among the English people. The
victims of the persecutions became lauded as martyrs.
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Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer – Not Catholic Enough for
Queen Mary
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