A.

Mainly the problem that the church had with Henry VIII was that his marriage to Catherine in the eyes of the church with illegal due to him marrying his brother’s widow. “Since canon law prohibited a man’s marriage to his brother’s widow, the English representative in Rome obtained a pal dispensation” (Gonzalez, 88).  The legality of his marriage would always be in question since it did not follow the canon law. Henry then would suggest that his bastard son who was the duck of Richmond become his true heir. This action too would be viewed as illegitimate according to Papal law. The pope refused to recognize his bastard son. He then tried to get his marriage with Catherine annulled to the fact that she would not bear him a suitable heir for the kingdom. Henry becoming very frustrated due to the apparent obstacles created by the church would turn to his trusted religious advisor, Thomas Cranmer. He suggested going to the religious schools for an appeal, this unfortunately would not work as well. Henry’s solution to his papal frustration was to call upon ancient laws and put the clergy under the direct authority of the king. He then strong-armed the pope into making Thomas Cranmer the archbishop of Canterbury. Henry, now that he has obtained the papal authority threatened anyone that would oppose his rightful place as the undisputable head of the church. He even would go as far as saying “any who dared call the king a schismatic or a heretic would be considered guilty of treason” (90). King Henry VIII more than anything wanted an heir to take over his kingdom. Unfortunately for him, he had to marry his brother’s widow which in the eyes of the church was illegal, and yet they married anyway. After that marriage Henry and his new wife Catherine tried to have a son, after this was unsuccessful he tried to divorce his wife. He suggested that since he couldn’t have a son then his bastard child should be able to take the throne. For this to happen he went to the church and asked if this was possible, it was not. He then simply wanted a divorce, and the church denied him. Eventually King Henry VIII would incant an ancient law enabling him to take over the church. All of these factors lead to the schism and hatred between the Catholic Church and Henry VIII. Henry VIII simply wanted to divorce his wife in order to remarry and then have a son. Pope Clement VII could not annul this marriage due to politic reasons. He had a relationship with Charles V and “Clement VII, could not invalidate Henry’s marriage to Catherine without alienating Charles V” (88). Clement didn’t want to alienate Charles because Charles essentially had the pope under his control, and since Catherine is Charles V’s aunt she didn’t want any dishonor so she pleaded not make the divorce go through. Both theologians and legislators concluded that Henry VIII should not be labeled the head of the church and to label him the head of the church what would unethical. He forced his way to his seat of power and he didn’t deserve to be the head of the church.

B.

This document fits the timeline of the previous reading however it does not address any of the events in detail. It doesn’t address the political shifts from all the parties involved in King Henry’s rise to power within the church, it does not explain in detail how much effort Henry put into divorcing his wife, it also does not mention that he was close friends with Thomas More before he decided to excommunicate him. The position that this reading puts Henry in is one of “he was right the entire time” and that “he could do no wrong”. Simply stated it says “Kings of this realm, shall have full power and authority from time to time to visit, repress, redress, reform, order, correct, restrain, and amend all such errors, heresies, abuses, offenses, contempts, and enormities”. King Henry affirmed that he had absolute divine power of everything within the church. He had the power to put any law he felt fit, he also had the power to repeal any law that he didn’t like because he is now the supreme ruler within the church and the state. This reading says that the king is given this power because he is the spokesperson to God and that everything the king does is for the unification of the Church and in the name of Christ Jesus.

C

This document deals with communion, transubstantiation, if priests can marry or not, if priests have to abide by the rules of chastity, if private masses are ok according to the laws of God, and if confessions are necessary for believers. I think that these rules are leaning more towards the Catholic Church. I think that these forms lean more to the Catholic side because they are still holding dear the practices of Catholicism. Masses are still being revered, priests are to remain unmarried, and laws regarding widowing and chastity are to be upheld. I think the consequences within this document is that these rules will cause a great schism between the Catholic Church and Protestant reformers. The Protestant Reformers will not see these changes as a step in what they believe is the right direction. They will believe that these rules and laws are just reaffirming what the Catholic church believes and practices on a daily basis.