Vatican Reveals Letter on Henry VIII’s Papal Plea

NY Slimes ^ | 5/12/2009 | ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

[markomalley]

The Vatican has opened its secret archives, the repository of centuries worth of documents pertaining to the Holy See, to let the world get a closer look at a document presaging England’s split from the Church of Rome. Dated July 13, 1530, and addressed to Pope Clement VII, the letter, right, asks for the annulment of Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon and includes the seals of dozens of peers of England who concurred with the request.

[markomalley]

ADDRESS OF THE PEERS OF ENGLAND TO POPE CLEMENT VII
ASKING FOR THE ANNULMENT OF KING HENRY VIII’S MARRIAGE
[ex Anglia], 1530 July 13^th

---

    Parchment, mm 950x458; open envelope on which (dark red) ribbons are sewn, bearing 85 seals of just as many signers of the document. The seals, in red wax, nearly all navette-shaped, are contained in tin caskets. 

   ASV, A. A., Arm. I‑XVIII, 4098 A (XC); detail of the seals (XCI)

   Whatever the remote cause of the Anglican schism, there is no doubt that the most immediate and determining cause was Henry VIII’s (1509-1547) wish to get rid of his legitimate wife, Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and aunt of the future emperor Charles V, in order to get married with Anne Boleyn, lady-in-waiting, who wanted to belong to him only as a wife. The sovereign did not hide his intentions and was ready to take any decision in order to achieve his aim. In fact, in 1527, Henry VIII undertook some initiatives with the local archbishops and with the papal legate, Cardinal Wolsey, so that the cause of nullity of the sovereign’s marriage with Catherine of Aragon (who had given birth to 6 children, of whom only Mary Tudor survived) was dealt with in England, where it was easy for the King to exercise his pressure. This was by no means allowed by the Pontiff, who moved the trial of the case to Rome.

   Due to the delicate implications the case implied, both for its juridical nature and for the ecclesiastic policy, Clement VII took time before pronouncing a sentence. And during this difficult situation the King and his ministers never ceased to put pressure on Rome, so that the issue could be quickly resolved. Also the Peers of England, all together, acted in favour of the sovereign and with the present document – in an intentionally solemn form – in 1530 asked the Pope to put an end to their long wait and to that of the entire English Nation.

    Their request has an urging nature, and is definitely not a plea for the annulment, which they take for granted, considering the favourable opinion already given by the English, French and Italian scholars, as well as the benevolence always shown by the King towards the Holy See (from line 5: Sufficere sane alioquin debuisset causae ipsius iusticia eruditissimorum virorum calculis passim probata celeberimarum academiarum suffragiis iudicata ab Anglis, a Gallis, ab Italis prout quisque apud eos ceteros eruditione antecellit pronunciata et diffinita ut Sanctitas Vestra, etiam nemine petente et reclamantibus quibuscumque, suo ore suaque auctoritate aliorum sentencias confirmaret, presertim cum causae diffinicio eum regem, illud regnum respiciat, quod de Sede illa Apostolica tam multis nominibus benemeritum sit). At the end of the text, the Peers declare their intention to agree with the Pontiff whatever his sentence may be (third last line: Interim vero Deum Optimum Maximum, quem ipsam esse veritatem certissimo testimonio cognoscimus, comprecabimur, ut Sanctitatis Vestre consilia ita informare atque dirigere dignetur, ut quod sanctum, iustum ac verum est a Vestre Sanctitatis auctoritate obtinentes, ab omni alia assequende veritatis molestia liberemur). It is well-know that the Pope then declared legitimate Henry VIII’s marriage with Catherine of Aragon, and therefore indissoluble, and how the sovereign, hindered from carrying out his plans, got married again and declared the separation of the Church of England from the Church of Rome (the Anglican schism).

Source: Vatican Secret Archives

[markomalley]

ping for your lists

[mnehring]

bfltr

[trad_anglican]

declared the separation of the Church of England from the Church of Rome

I don't know who's commentary this is, but this is incorrect. Neither Henry nor the bishops ever declared any such thing as "the Church of England."

Perhaps in the grand scheme of things it doesn't make much difference, but in the name of truth, it's worth noting.

[Vigilanteman]

. . . includes the seals of dozens of peers of England who concurred with the request.

Considering Henry VII's warm personality, I'm sure they all just lined up to give their seals.

[noname07718]

He should have been a US Senator like the swimmer; he bought his annulment for a few Shekels. I am still waiting for him to see Mary Jo again. The disgusting murder and with the Church can make his children bastards.

Disgusting waste of a human being. Only the democraps can cheer and worship him as the Lion of the Senate. Yes, the cowardly lion. Are we in Kansas yet??

Is there a pattern in the Democrap world of hero that I don’t understand? It seems that the party of corruption is the Democraps. Tax Evasion, Murtha, Reid, murders, lying majority leaders, and the list goes on from local elected officials all of the way to the illegal Alien President we have currently sitting in 1600 Penn Ave. I’m from NJ and according to a recent FBI report, my state is more corrupt than Ill.

[vladimir998]

You wrote:

“The disgusting murder and with the Church can make his children bastards.”

Church annulments do not make children illegitimate. This is a common mistake people make.

[bobjam]

This annulment was not an unusual request for the wealthy and powerful back then (or today). What was unusual was that Rome didn’t grant it.

[trad_anglican]

What was unusual was that Rome didn’t grant it.

Considering that a papal dispensation had been granted for the marriage to occur (Catherine had been married to Henry's brother) it's not that suprising.

[markomalley]

He should have been a US Senator like the swimmer; he bought his annulment for a few Shekels. I am still waiting for him to see Mary Jo again. The disgusting murder and with the Church can make his children bastards.

Disgusting waste of a human being. Only the democraps can cheer and worship him as the Lion of the Senate. Yes, the cowardly lion. Are we in Kansas yet??

Is there a pattern in the Democrap world of hero that I don’t understand? It seems that the party of corruption is the Democraps. Tax Evasion, Murtha, Reid, murders, lying majority leaders, and the list goes on from local elected officials all of the way to the illegal Alien President we have currently sitting in 1600 Penn Ave. I’m from NJ and according to a recent FBI report, my state is more corrupt than Ill.

huh?

[dmz]

Try the decaf.

[noname07718]

Your response is pretty lame. Are you a swimmer defender or do you condone the Church’s granting the annulment from his first wife. Do you live in the swimmer’s district??

[dmz]

LOL. Forget the decaf, you need valium.

No to both questions, btw. I’m from south of the mason dixon line.

[elpadre]

“What was unusual was that Rome didn’t grant it.”

I understand that to be true. And as a reason I seem to recall reading that Catherine was of the royal Spanish blood line and the Spanish Army had taken over for the Swiss Guards during this time frame. I may be off on this, as it has been many years.

[Dajjal]

bumpus ad summum

[Huber]

Thanks to markomalley for the ping.

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[bobjam]

Catherine of Aragon was the aunt of Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor. Prior to Henry VIII’s application, Charles V had captured Rome and effectively imprisoned Pope Clement VII (such respect for the Vicar of Christ and Prince of Apostles!). The Pope could therefore do nothing without the approval of Charles V.

The succession of Mary Tudor would mean Charles V’s own first cousin would rule England. If her succession were challenged internally (which is what happened to Matilda, who was the last princess to attempt succession), Charles V could internvene militarily. He would prop Mary up on the throne and even induce her to marry a Spanish prince, thus turning England over to the ruling family of Spain. That is why the succession of Mary had to be prevented at all costs.

The Pope actually didn’t deny Henry’s application. He refused to act upon it, and the case dragged out for years. At one point the Pope floated the idea that perhaps Henry could be allowed to commit polygamy to solve the problem. It came to the point that England could wait no more, and so the Archbishop of Canterbury decided the case and issued the annulment. Parliament passed the Act of Restraint in Appeals to end the Pope’s appellate jurisdiction over all legal matters in England- thereby preventing Catherine from appealing the annulment to Rome.

[TaxRelief]

It is in the Vatican’s best interest to continue to perpetuate the “Henry did it for his own selfish reasons” myth. Admitting otherwise would be an admission of corruption and greed within the RC Church.

Henry VIII was a convenient pawn.

[meandog]

Clement VII was the nephew of Leo X, one of the worst popes in history (He’s the guy who mirrored the money changers that Jesus drove from the temple because he was the pope selling indulgences when Martin Luther came to Rome) Clement was, like Leo, a DiMedici (a powerful Italian family like our Kennedys) and believed he could get away with practically anything. the DiMedicis had cardinals killed so they could get their family popes elected; they also were much like the Kennedys in impregnating young girls and having them murdered too.

[bobjam]

Our Catholic friends need to understand that the Rome and Papacy that Luther, Calvin, Cranmer etc dealt with was a very, very different place than today. If today’s Rome were in place back then, there would’t have been a Protestant Reformation. The Council of Trent corrected many of the problems, but unfortunately it came too late. Lines had been drawn and blood had been spilled on both sides.