Was Henry VIII a Protestant?
To claim that Henry VIII was never a Protestant does not entail that he remained “a devout Roman Catholic,” even after separating all of England from Rome.
Be England Thy Dowry
Almost 700 years ago, King Richard II dedicated England as the “Dowry of Mary.” On March 29, 2020, England will be rededicated to Mary. In light of this historic event, numerous articles have been published of late on the topic. These articles address what the rededication is and why it matters to English Catholics. But … Read more
Old and New Tyrannies Borne of Lust
We have seen many examples of the tyrannical mindset of those who are at the forefront of this latter stage of the Sexual Revolution, led by the homosexualist movement and its political and governmental allies. We have observed the treatment by state human rights commissions of bakers, florists, and photographers who religiously object to serving … Read more
What Has Changed Since St. Thomas More’s Time?
Professor Benjamin Wiker’s new book, Saints versus Scoundrels, introduces readers to some of the “greatest questions” in life and philosophy by imagining what two historical figures might say to each other if they happened to meet up in the professor’s study. Wiker pairs up two such figures—a saint and a scoundrel—in St. Thomas More and … Read more
The Narrowness of Martyrdom
A broad justification for martyrdom is preferable to a narrow one. A person would prefer to die for something grand, sweeping, and generally held. Perhaps world peace, or what used to be called the fellowship of man. Martyrdom is in practice narrow. When St. Thomas More died on a scaffold in Henry VIII’s kingdom, it … Read more
St. Thomas More: From Renaissance Man to Christian Martyr
When we consider the period in Western civilization known today as the Renaissance, we encounter a time of notable change in virtually every area of culture. Visual art was departing from the purely symbolic, representative forms of the Middle Ages and exhibiting a more earthly, mundane realism, and while it continued to concentrate on religious … Read more
Saint Thomas More (1478-1535)
February 7 (the anniversary of his birth) It was the stubble. That, more than anything, drew me to Saint Thomas More when I was young. Of course, I had seen the film version of Robert Bolt’s play, A Man for All Seasons, and I enjoyed it. You are a bad fellow if you don’t like … Read more