St Thomas More

Thomas More was born in London in 1478. He attended Oxford University and practised law in London. After the death of his first wife, Thomas married Alice Middleton who cared for his four small children.

Thomas' history is tied up with the history of the King of England, King Henry the Eighth. King Henry was like a spoilt child, who liked to get his own way in everything. He threw tantrums when things didn't go the way he wanted. He, however, would have people killed while in these tantrums. Often the people he had executed were originally his advisers and friends.

King Henry was, like most English people, a Catholic. This means that he was bound by the laws of the Catholic Church, which was (and still is) headed by the Pope in Rome. This meant that the Pope had the final power in legal issues and not King Henry.

King Henry like women. In fact, he eventually married six different wives. The Church, then and now teaches that people who are married cannot get divorced and remarried. People are only allowed to remarry if their first spouse has died. Not long after King Henry had married for the first time, he decided he liked a new woman better than his present wife and he applied to the Pope to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. The Church refused to do this for the King, as there was no valid reason to grant the annulment.

King Henry decided to split away from the Catholic Church and begin his own church. This Church still exists today and is known as the Church of England, or the Anglican Church. Henry announced that his power was supreme over the Pope's and that his new Church which allowed divorce, was greater than the Catholic Church. Henry also passed a law which forbade Royalty to marry Catholics. This law still exists today. Henry tried and succeeded to make Catholics second class citizens in England. Henry quickly divorced his first wife and married his second wife. (With some later wives Henry did not bother with divorce, he had them beheaded...murdered!)

In the autumn of 1529 Thomas became Lord Chancellor of England. Thomas disagreed with King Henry on the question of the King dissolving his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. With in 2 years Thomas resigned as Lord Chancellor and retired from public life.

In 1534 Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy making the King head of the English Church. Thomas was asked to subscribe to the oath... to declare the King greater in power than the Pope. He refused and was charged with high treason (which is the same as betraying your country and is usually punished by death, even today!)

After a year in prison in the Tower of London he stood trial at Westminster Hall. On July 6, 1535 Thomas was executed on Tower Hill in London. He died the "King's good servant, but God's servant first".

Thomas More was declared a saint and his feast day in kept on June 22.

Links to more information about St Thomas More

Centre for Thomas More Studies - to promote the study of Thomas More especially the contemporary implecations of his statemanship in pursuit of peace. http://www.thomasmorestudies.org/

Thomas More’s England Travel Guidebook http://www.thomasmorestudies.org/maps.html

Biography and links to other sites http://dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Christianity/Denominations/Catholicism/Saints/T/Saint_Thomas_More/

The St Thomas More Website http://www.apostles.com/thomasmore.html

Catholic Encyclopedia http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14689c.htm

The life, works, essays and letters of St Thomas More http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/tmore.htm

Patron Saints Index http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintt04.htm

Catholic online saints http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=324

More about More http://www.d-holliday.com/tmore/more.htm

The Story of St Thomas More by John Farrow (The biography of a great Christian who refused to betray his conscience even at the cost of his life) http://www.cin.org/farmor.html

Noble heroism amidst treachery http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ76.HTM

Thomas More Societies http://www.d-holliday.com/tmore/default.htm

Mark Shea Catholic Scripture Study http://www.mark-shea.com/more.html

Catholic Pages http://www.catholic-pages.com/saints/st_thomas_more.asp

St Thomas More Parish UT USA - about St Thomas More http://www.stmore.com/patron.html

Saviour.org http://www.savior.org/saints/more.htm

Reflections on St Thomas More and the higher law http://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/CSJ/Mar_01/html/thomas.htm

St Thomas More Martyr, Chancellor of England http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/THOMASMO.htm

Franciscan Archive http://www.franciscan-archive.org/more/

Petition for the Proclamation of Sir Thomas More as Patron of Statesmen - Official petition presented to Pope John Paul IIon September 25, 2000). http://www.thomasmorestudies.org/segn/control/initContext?title=Petition+to+Make+More+Patron+of+Statesmen

Apostolic letter issued motu proprio proclaming saint Thomas More Patron of Statesmen and Politicians (Pope John Paul II) for perpetual remembrance http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/motu_proprio/documents/hf_jp-ii_motu-proprio_20001031_thomas-more_en.html

Book review - A man for all seasons http://www.simplysharing.com/more.htm

A prayer by St Thomas More http://www.apostles.com/moreprayer.html

Our patron http://www.stmchurch.com/patron.htm

Biography and Time line http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/more.html

The complete works of St Thomas More http://www.apostles.com/works.html

What politicians can learn from St Thomas More http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/946718.stm

The Trial of Sir Thomas More http://www.duhaime.org/Law_museum/uk-more.htm

Sir Thomas More and the art of dialogue http://www.humanities.ualberta.ca/emls/iemls/work/chapters/lakowski.html

"I die the King's good servant, but God's first" - the last words of Saint Thomas More A Short Biography of St. Thomas More http://www.stthomasmoreusc.org/bio_st_thomas_more.html

Bearing witness long after his death - Mark Shea http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0559.html

Paradigm of the modern life http://www.catholicherald.com/articles/03articles/vaghi0213.htm