Catholic Faith Fights to Survive in England: King Henry the VIII and the Catholic Church

It is an era of mistrust and brutal slayings of innocents with bogus crimes against the government. Charges of trumped up treason and betrayal against the great King Henry the VIII condemned a slew of people to die including two of the loves in his life, his wives Anne Boleyn and Katharine Howard. It was a time when the English Catholic Church would have a falling out with the king and almost perish because of it.

King Henry the VIII took Catherine of Aragon to be his first wife. The marriage fell apart when Catherine couldn't conceive a male heir for the King. King Henry got a divorce from Catherine despite the disapproval of the Catholic Church. The rift between King and Church led Henry to go his separate way apart from the religious faith. He got married five more times after that so divorce was a constant in his life as he desperately tried to land a wife who could bear him a Kingly Heir, a son.

Under the rule of Queen Elizabeth the 1^st Catholics could not openly practice their faith. Instead the Fathers held mass in the privacy of homes as they moved about hiding from the law. The Church of England at this time was the reigning religion.

Queen Elizabeth wanted Edmund Campion to hold a high-ranking position in her church, The Church of England, but Edmund had other plans. Father Edmund Campion took on another role as Catholic Priest. He intended to build the Catholic Faith back up and recruit new followers.

On the run and wishing for the opportunity to make a stand against the government on his religion's behalf he finally got his chance. It came when he got caught and stood trial four months later. He was charged with conspiracy to murder and found guilty. He was executed in front of the crowds from death by hanging. On that day it was raining as if the heavens were shedding tears for the ignorance England chose to see.

To the English Traditionalists, the Catholic Church wanted to change their culture and because of that one thing the Catholics were the enemy of the Country. King Henry the VIII certainly believed this or he wouldn't have been so outraged over what the Catholic Church had to say about divorce.

England in 16^th and 17^th centuries paved a path to many martyrs of the catholic faith. Instead of the religion dying out, it managed to survive because of the faithful warriors who battled for a cause they held much higher then life itself.