Saint Thomas More
Chancelier du roi Henri
VIII d'Angleterre, martyr (+ 1535)
Fils d'un haut magistrat londonien, il se distingue par son intelligence, sa bonne humeur et sa piété. Une apparente vocation religieuse le conduit à la Chartreuse de Londres, mais il n'est pas fait pour la solitude contemplative. Il est bâti pour la vie active dans le monde. Très vite, il se révèle un des plus grands juristes et un des humanistes les plus cultivés de son temps. L'amitié d'Erasme et la publication de "L'Utopie"* (une vision humoristique d'une république idéale) le placent au premier rang de la nouvelle culture et des aspirants à un renouveau religieux. Avec cela son réalisme, sa clairvoyance souriante le font reconnaître du roi Henri VIII d'Angleterre comme un magistrat exceptionnel. D'où sa promotion aux fonctions de Lord-chancelier du Royaume. Mais les années de rêve dans sa résidence de Chelsea, au milieu d'une nombreuse famille, débordante de gaieté, de ferveur et d'hospitalité, ne se prolongent pas longtemps. Ni sa lucide intégrité ni sa foi éclairée ne lui permettent de suivre Henri VIII dans le schisme où les errements conjugaux du roi allaient s'engager. Sir Thomas More, fidèle à la foi catholique, bien qu'ayant renoncé à ses hautes fonctions pour garder sa liberté de jugement, paiera de sa tête cette fidélité.
* L'utopie ou Le Traité de la meilleure forme de gouvernement (1516)
- Le pape Jean-Paul II fit de Thomas More le patron des ministres et des
responsables politiques car il a illustré en son temps que gouverner était une
vertu. vidéo CFRT/
France Télévisions - Jour du Seigneur.
A lire aussi: Lettre apostolique en forme de motu proprio pour la
proclamation de saint Thomas More comme patron des responsables de gouvernement
et des hommes politiques (Jean-Paul II, le 31 octobre 2000)
Mémoire des saints Jean
Fisher, évêque, et Thomas More, martyrs. Leur opposition au roi Henri VIII
dans la controverse autour de son divorce et sur la suprématie spirituelle du
pape, entraîna leur incarcération à la Tour de Londres. Jean Fisher, évêque de
Rochester, qui s'était fait remarquer par son érudition et la sainteté de sa
vie, fut décapité devant sa prison par ordre du roi lui-même. Thomas More, père
de famille d'une vie absolument intègre, et chancelier du royaume d'Angleterre,
fut décapité le 6 juillet suivant, lié au saint évêque par la même fidélité à
l'Église catholique et par le même martyre.
Martyrologe romain
On me reproche de mêler
boutades, facéties et joyeux propos aux sujets les plus graves. Avec Horace,
j'estime qu'on peut dire la vérité en riant. Sans doute aussi convient-il mieux
au laïc que je suis de transmettre sa pensée sur un mode allègre et enjoué,
plutôt que sur le mode sérieux et solennel, à la façon des prédicateurs.
(Saint Thomas More -
L'utopie)
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1372/Saint-Thomas-More.html
Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498–1543),
Portrait of Sir Thomas More, 1527, oil on oak panel,
74.9 x 60.3, The Frick Collection
SAINT THOMAS MORE
Martyr
(1487-1535)
Saint Thomas More naquit
à Londres, le 7 février 1478. Son père remplissait la fonction de juge, dans la
capitale. Thomas passa quelques-unes de ses premières années en qualité de
page, au service du cardinal Morton, alors archevêque de Cantorbéry et chancelier
d'Angleterre. A l'âge de quatorze ans, il alla étudier à Oxford où il fit de
sérieuses études juridiques et suivit les conférences sur la Cité de Dieu, de
saint Augustin.
En 1501, Thomas More
était reçu avocat et élu membre du Parlement trois ans plus tard. Après
quelques années de mariage, il perdit sa femme et demeura seul avec ses quatre
enfants: trois filles et un fils. Il ne se remariera que beaucoup plus tard,
avec une veuve. En père vigilant, il veillait à ce que Dieu restât le centre de
la vie de ses enfants. Le soir, il récitait la prière avec eux; aux repas, une
de ses filles lisait un passage de l'Ecriture Sainte et on discutait ensuite
sur le texte en conversant gaiement. Jamais la science, ni la vertu, ne prirent
un visage austère dans sa demeure; sa piété n'en était cependant pas moins
profonde. Saint Thomas More entendait la messe tous les jours; en plus de ses
prières du matin et du soir, il récitait les psaumes quotidiennement.
Sa valeur le fit nommer
Maître des Requêtes et conseiller privé du roi. En 1529, Thomas More remplaça
le défunt cardinal Wolsey dans la charge de Lord chancelier. Celui qui n'avait
jamais recherché les honneurs ni désiré une haute situation se trouvait placé
au sommet des dignités humaines. Les succès, pas plus que les afflictions,
n'eurent de prise sur sa force de caractère.
Lorsque Henri VIII voulut
divorcer pour épouser Anne Boleyn, et qu'il prétendit devant l'opposition
formelle du pape, se proclamer chef de l'Église d'Angleterre, saint Thomas More
blâma la conduite de son suzerain. Dès lors, les bonnes grâces du roi se
changèrent en hostilité ouverte contre lui. Le roi le renvoya sans aucune
ressource, car saint Thomas versait au fur à mesure tous ses revenus dans le
sein des pauvres. Le jour où il apprit que ses granges avaient été incendiées,
il écrivit à sa femme de rendre grâces à Dieu pour cette épreuve.
Le 12 avril 1554,
l'ex-chancelier fut invité à prononcer le serment qui reconnaissait Anne Boleyn
comme épouse légitime et rejetait l'autorité du pape. Saint Thomas rejeta
noblement toute espèce de compromis avec sa conscience et refusa de donner son
appui à l'adultère et au schisme. Après un second refus réitéré le 17 avril, on
l'emprisonna à la Tour de Londres. Il vécut dans le recueillement et la prière
durant les quatorze mois de son injuste incarcération.
Comme il avait fait de
toute sa vie une préparation à l'éternité, la sérénité ne le quittait jamais.
Il avoua bonnement: «Il me semble que Dieu fait de moi Son jouet et qu'Il me
berce.» L'épreuve de la maladie s'ajouta bientôt à celle de la réclusion.
Devenu semblable à un squelette, il ne cessa cependant de travailler en
écrivant des traités moraux, un traité sur la Passion, et même de joyeuses
satires.
L'intensité de sa prière
conservait sa force d'âme: «Donne-moi Ta grâce, Dieu bon, pour que je compte
pour rien le monde et fixe mon esprit sur Toi.» Il disait à sa chère fille
Marguerite: «Si je sens la frayeur sur le point de me vaincre, je me
rappellerai comment un souffle de vent faillit faire faire naufrage à Pierre
parce que sa foi avait faibli. Je ferai donc comme lui, j'appellerai le Christ
à mon secours.»
On accusa saint Thomas
More de haute trahison parce qu'il niait la suprématie spirituelle du roi.
Lorsque le simulacre de jugement qui le condamnait à être décapité fut terminé,
le courageux confesseur de la foi n'eut que des paroles de réconfort pour tous
ceux qui pleuraient sa mort imminente et injuste. A la foule des spectateurs,
il demanda de prier pour lui et de porter témoignage qu'il mourait dans la foi
et pour la foi de la Sainte Église catholique. Sir Kingston, connu pour son
coeur impitoyable, lui fit ses adieux en sanglotant. Il récita pieusement le
Miserere au pied de l'échafaud. Il demanda de l'aide pour monter sur l'échafaud:
«Pour la descente, ajouta-t-il avec humour, je m'en tirerai bien tout seul.» Il
embrassa son bourreau: «Courage, mon brave, n'aie pas peur, mais comme j'ai le
cou très court, attention! il y va de ton honneur.» Il se banda les yeux et se
plaça lui-même sur la planche.
Béatifié par Léon XIII le
29 décembre 1886, sa canonisation eut lieu le 19 mai 1935.
Tiré de: Frères des Écoles Chrétiennes, Vies des Saints, Edition 1932, p. 234-235 -- Marteau
de Langle de Cary, 1959, tome II, p. 37-42.
SOURCE : https://livres-mystiques.com/partieTEXTES/Jaud_Saints/calendrier/Vies_des_Saints/07-06.htm
_(14761159881).jpg)
LETTRE APOSTOLIQUE
EN FORME DE MOTU PROPRIO
POUR LA PROCLAMATION DE
SAINT THOMAS MORE
COMME PATRON DES
RESPONSABLES DE GOUVERNEMENT
ET DES HOMMES POLITIQUES
JEAN-PAUL II
EN PERPÉTUELLE MÉMOIRE
1. De la vie et du
martyre de saint Thomas More se dégage un message qui traverse les siècles et
qui parle aux hommes de tous temps de la dignité inaliénable de la conscience,
dans laquelle, comme le rappelle le Concile Vatican II, réside «le centre le
plus secret de l’homme et le sanctuaire où il est seul avec Dieu dont la voix
se fait entendre dans ce lieu le plus intime» (Gaudium et spes, n. 16). Quand
l’homme et la femme écoutent le rappel de la vérité, la conscience oriente avec
sûreté leurs actes vers le bien. C’est précisément pour son témoignage de la
primauté de la vérité sur le pouvoir, rendu jusqu’à l’effusion du sang, que
saint Thomas More est vénéré comme exemple permanent de cohérence morale. Même
en dehors de l’Église, particulièrement parmi ceux qui sont appelés à guider
les destinées des peuples, sa figure est reconnue comme source d’inspiration
pour une politique qui se donne comme fin suprême le service de la personne
humaine.
Certains Chefs d’État et
de gouvernement, de nombreux responsables politiques, quelques Conférences
épiscopales et des évêques individuellement m’ont récemment adressé des
pétitions en faveur de la proclamation de saint Thomas More comme Patron des
Responsables de gouvernement et des hommes politiques. Parmi les signataires de
la demande, on trouve des personnalités de diverses provenances politiques,
culturelles et religieuses, ce qui témoigne d’un intérêt à la fois vif et très
répandu pour la pensée et le comportement de cet insigne homme de gouvernement.
2. Thomas More a connu
une carrière politique extraordinaire dans son pays. Né à Londres en 1478 dans
une famille respectable, il fut placé dès sa jeunesse au service de
l’Archevêque de Cantorbéry, John Morton, Chancelier du Royaume. Il étudia
ensuite le droit à Oxford et à Londres, élargissant ses centres d’intérêts à de
vastes secteurs de la culture, de la théologie et de la littérature classique.
Il apprit à fond le grec et il établit des rapports d’échanges et d’amitié avec
d’importants protagonistes de la culture de la Renaissance, notamment Didier
Érasme de Rotterdam.
Sa sensibilité religieuse
le conduisit à rechercher la vie vertueuse à travers une pratique ascétique
assidue: il cultiva l’amitié avec les Frères mineurs de la stricte observance
du couvent de Greenwich, et pendant un certain temps il logea à la Chartreuse
de Londres, deux des principaux centres de ferveur religieuse dans le Royaume.
Se sentant appelé au mariage, à la vie familiale et à l’engagement laïc, il
épousa en 1505 Jane Colt, dont il eut quatre enfants. Jane mourut en 1511 et
Thomas épousa en secondes noces Alice Middleton, qui était veuve et avait une
fille. Durant toute sa vie, il fut un mari et un père affectueux et fidèle,
veillant avec soin à l’éducation religieuse, morale et intellectuelle de ses
enfants. Dans sa maison, il accueillait ses gendres, ses belles-filles et ses
petits-enfants, et sa porte était ouverte à beaucoup de jeunes amis à la
recherche de la vérité ou de leur vocation. D’autre part, la vie familiale
faisait une large place à la prière commune et à la lectio divina, comme aussi
à de saines formes de récréation. Thomas participait chaque jour à la messe
dans l’église paroissiale, mais les pénitences austères auxquelles il se
livrait n’étaient connues que de ses proches les plus intimes.
3. En 1504, sous le roi
Henri VII, il accéda pour la première fois au parlement. Henri VIII renouvela
son mandat en 1510 et il l’établit également représentant de la Couronne dans
la capitale, lui ouvrant une carrière remarquable dans l’administration
publique. Dans la décennie qui suivit, le roi l’envoya à diverses reprises,
pour des missions diplomatiques et commerciales, dans les Flandres et dans le
territoire de la France actuelle. Nommé membre du Conseil de la Couronne, juge
président d’un tribunal important, vice-trésorier et chevalier, il devint en
1523 porte-parole, c’est-à-dire président, de la Chambre des Communes.
Universellement estimé
pour son indéfectible intégrité morale, pour la finesse de son intelligence,
pour son caractère ouvert et enjoué, pour son érudition extraordinaire, en
1529, à une époque de crise politique et économique dans le pays, il fut nommé
par le roi Chancelier du Royaume. Premier laïc à occuper cette charge, Thomas
fit face à une période extrêmement difficile, s’efforçant de servir le roi et
le pays. Fidèle à ses principes, il s’employa à promouvoir la justice et à
endiguer l’influence délétère de ceux qui poursuivaient leur propre intérêt au
détriment des plus faibles. En 1532, ne voulant pas donner son appui au projet
d’Henri VIII qui voulait prendre le contrôle de l’Église en Angleterre, il
présenta sa démission. Il se retira de la vie publique, acceptant de supporter
avec sa famille la pauvreté et l’abandon de beaucoup de personnes qui, dans
l’épreuve, se révélèrent de faux amis.
Constatant la fermeté
inébranlable avec laquelle il refusait tout compromis avec sa conscience, le
roi le fit emprisonner en 1534 dans la Tour de Londres, où il fut soumis à
diverses formes de pression psychologique. Thomas More ne se laissa pas
impressionner et refusa de prêter le serment qu’on lui demandait parce qu’il
comportait l’acceptation d’une plate-forme politique et ecclésiastique qui
préparait le terrain à un despotisme sans contrôle. Au cours du procès intenté
contre lui, il prononça une apologie passionnée de ses convictions sur
l’indissolubilité du mariage, le respect du patrimoine juridique inspiré par les
valeurs chrétiennes, la liberté de l’Église face à l’État. Condamné par le
Tribunal, il fut décapité.
Au cours des siècles qui
suivirent, la discrimination à l’égard de l’Église s’atténua. En 1850, la
hiérarchie catholique fut rétablie en Angleterre. Il fut alors possible
d’engager les causes de canonisation de nombreux martyrs. Thomas More fut
béatifié par le Pape Léon XIII en 1886, en même temps que cinquante-trois
autres martyrs, dont l’évêque John Fischer. Avec ce dernier, il fut canonisé
par Pie XI en 1935, à l’occasion du quatrième centenaire de son martyre.
4. De nombreuses raisons
militent en faveur de la proclamation de saint Thomas More comme Patron des
Responsables de gouvernement et des hommes politiques. Entre autres, le besoin
ressenti par le monde politique et administratif d’avoir des modèles crédibles
qui indiquent le chemin de la vérité en une période historique où se
multiplient de lourds défis et de graves responsabilités. Aujourd’hui, en
effet, des phénomènes économiques fortement innovateurs sont en train de
modifier les structures sociales; d’autre part, les conquêtes scientifiques
dans le secteur des biotechnologies renforcent la nécessité de défendre la vie
humaine sous toutes ses formes, tandis que les promesses d’une société nouvelle,
proposées avec succès à une opinion publique déconcertée, requièrent d’urgence
des choix politiques clairs en faveur de la famille, des jeunes, des personnes
âgées et des marginaux.
Dans ce contexte, il est
bon de revenir à l’exemple de saint Thomas More, qui se distingua par sa
constante fidélité à l’autorité et aux institutions légitimes, précisément
parce qu’il entendait servir en elles non le pouvoir mais l’idéal suprême de la
justice. Sa vie nous enseigne que le gouvernement est avant tout un exercice de
vertus. Fort de cette rigoureuse assise morale, cet homme d’État anglais mit
son activité publique au service de la personne, surtout quand elle est faible
ou pauvre; il géra les controverses sociales avec un grand sens de l’équité; il
protégea la famille et la défendit avec une détermination inlassable; il promut
l’éducation intégrale de la jeunesse. Son profond détachement des honneurs et
des richesses, son humilité sereine et joviale, sa connaissance équilibrée de
la nature humaine et de la vanité du succès, sa sûreté de jugement enracinée
dans la foi, lui donnèrent la force intérieure pleine de confiance qui le
soutint dans l’adversité et face à la mort. Sa sainteté resplendit dans le
martyre, mais elle fut préparée par une vie entière de travail dans le dévouement
à Dieu et au prochain.
Mentionnant des exemples
semblables de parfaite harmonie entre la foi et les œuvres, j’ai écrit dans
l’exhortation apostolique post-synodale Christifideles laici que «l’unité de la
vie des fidèles laïcs est d’une importance extrême : ils doivent en effet se
sanctifier dans la vie ordinaire, professionnelle et sociale. Afin qu’ils
puissent répondre à leur vocation, les fidèles laïcs doivent donc considérer
les activités de la vie quotidienne comme une occasion d’union à Dieu et
d’accomplissement de sa volonté, comme aussi de service envers les autres
hommes» (n. 17).
Cette harmonie entre le
naturel et le surnaturel est l’élément qui décrit peut-être plus que tout autre
la personnalité du grand homme d’État anglais : il vécut son intense vie
publique avec une humilité toute simple, marquée par son humour bien connu,
même aux portes de la mort.
Tel est le but où le
conduisit sa passion pour la vérité. On ne peut séparer l’homme de Dieu, ni la
politique de la morale; telle est la lumière qui éclaira sa conscience. Comme
j’ai déjà eu l’occasion de le dire, «l’homme est une créature de Dieu, et c’est
pourquoi les droits de l’homme ont en Dieu leur origine, ils reposent dans le
dessein de la création et ils entrent dans le plan de la rédemption. On
pourrait presque dire, d’une façon audacieuse, que les droits de l’homme sont
aussi les droits de Dieu» (Discours du 7 avril 1998 aux participants à la
Rencontre universitaire internationale UNIV’98).
Et c’est précisément dans
la défense des droits de la conscience que l’exemple de Thomas More brilla
d’une lumière intense. On peut dire qu’il vécut d’une manière singulière la
valeur d’une conscience morale qui est «témoignage de Dieu lui-même, dont la
voix et le jugement pénètrent l'intime de l'homme jusqu'aux racines de son âme»
(Encyclique Veritatis splendor, n. 58), même si, en ce qui concerne l’action
contre les hérétiques, il fut tributaire des limites de la culture de son
temps.
Le Concile œcuménique
Vatican II, dans la constitution Gaudium et spes, remarque que, dans le monde
contemporain, grandit «la conscience de l’éminente dignité qui revient à la
personne humaine, du fait qu’elle l’emporte sur toute chose et que ses droits
et devoirs sont universels et inviolables» (n. 26). L’histoire de saint Thomas
More illustre clairement une vérité fondamentale de l’éthique politique. En
effet, la défense de la liberté de l’Église contre des ingérences indues de
l’État est en même temps défense, au nom de la primauté de la conscience, de la
liberté de la personne par rapport au pouvoir politique. C’est là le principe
fondamental de tout ordre civil, conforme à la nature de l’homme.
5 Je suis donc certain
que l’élévation de l’éminente figure de saint Thomas More au rang de Patron des
Responsables de gouvernement et des hommes politiques pourvoira au bien de la
société. C’est là d’ailleurs une initiative qui est en pleine syntonie avec
l’esprit du grand Jubilé, qui conduit au troisième millénaire chrétien.
En conséquence, après
mûre considération, accueillant volontiers les demandes qui m’ont été
adressées, j’établis et je déclare Patron céleste des Responsables de
gouvernement et des hommes politiques saint Thomas More, et je décide que
doivent lui être attribués tous les honneurs et les privilèges liturgiques qui
reviennent, selon le droit, aux Patrons de catégories de personnes.
Béni et glorifié soit
Jésus Christ, Rédempteur de l’homme, hier, aujourd’hui, à jamais.
Donné à Rome, près de
Saint-Pierre, le 31 octobre 2000, en la vingt-troisième année de mon
Pontificat.
IOANNES PAULUS PP. II
© Copyright 2000 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
RENCONTRE AVEC LE
PARLEMENT ET LA BRITISH SOCIETY
ALLOCUTION DU SAINT-PÈRE
BENOÎT XVI*
Monsieur le Speaker,
Je vous remercie des
paroles de bienvenue que vous venez de m’adresser au nom des membres distingués
de cette assemblée. En m’adressant à vous, j’ai bien conscience du privilège
qui m’est ainsi donné d’adresser la parole au peuple britannique et à ses
Représentants au Palais de Westminster, édifice auréolé d’une signification
unique dans l’histoire civile et politique du peuple de ces Iles. Permettez-moi
d’exprimer mon estime pour le Parlement qui siège en ce lieu depuis des siècles
et qui a eu une influence si profonde pour le développement du gouvernement
participatif dans les nations, en particulier au sein du Commonwealth et dans
le monde de l’anglophonie en général. Votre tradition de droit commun sert de
base aux systèmes législatifs en bien des régions du monde, et votre conception
particulière des droits et des devoirs respectifs de l’État et des citoyens,
ainsi que de la séparation des pouvoirs, continue d’en inspirer beaucoup sur
notre planète.
Tandis que je vous parle
en cette enceinte chargée d’histoire, je pense aux hommes et aux femmes
innombrables des siècles passés ayant joué un rôle important en des événements
marquants qui se sont déroulés dans ces murs ; ils ont laissé leur empreinte
sur des générations de Britanniques et de bien d’autres aussi. En particulier,
j’évoque la figure de saint Thomas More, intellectuel et homme d’État anglais
de grande envergure, qui est admiré aussi bien par les croyants que par les
non-croyants pour l’intégrité avec laquelle il a suivi sa conscience, fusse au
prix de déplaire au Souverain dont il était le « bon serviteur », et cela parce
qu’il avait choisi de servir Dieu avant tout. Le dilemme que More a dû
affronter en des temps difficiles, l’éternelle question du rapport entre ce qui
est dû à César et ce qui est dû à Dieu, m’offre l’opportunité de réfléchir
brièvement avec vous sur la juste place de la croyance religieuse à l’intérieur
de la vie politique.
La tradition
parlementaire de ce pays doit beaucoup à la tendance naturelle de votre nation
pour la modération, au désir d’arriver à un équilibre véritable entre les
exigences légitimes du gouvernement et les droits de ceux qui y sont soumis.
Tandis que des mesures décisives ont été prises à plusieurs époques de votre
histoire afin de définir des limites dans l’exercice du pouvoir, les
institutions politiques de la nation ont pu évoluer dans un espace remarquable
de stabilité. Dans ce processus, la Grande-Bretagne est apparue comme une
démocratie pluraliste qui attache une grande valeur à la liberté de parole, à
la liberté d’obédience politique et au respect de la primauté du droit comme
règle de conduite, accompagné d’un sens très fort des droits et des devoirs de
chacun, ainsi que de l’égalité de tous les citoyens devant la loi. S’il
s’exprime d’une manière différente, l’enseignement social de l’Église
catholique a bien des points communs avec cette approche, aussi bien quand il
s’agit de protéger avec fermeté la dignité unique de toute personne humaine,
créée à l’image et à la ressemblance de Dieu, que lorsqu’il souligne avec force
le devoir qu’ont les autorités civiles de promouvoir le bien commun.
Et pourtant, les
questions fondamentales qui étaient en jeu dans le procès de Thomas More,
continuent à se présenter, même si c’est de manière différente, à mesure
qu’apparaissent de nouvelles conditions sociales. Chaque génération, en
cherchant à faire progresser le bien commun, doit à nouveau se poser la
question : quelles sont les exigences que des gouvernements peuvent
raisonnablement imposer aux citoyens, et jusqu’où cela peut-il aller ? En
faisant appel à quelle autorité les dilemmes moraux peuvent-ils être résolus ?
et le bien commun promu ? Ces questions nous mènent directement aux fondements
éthiques du discours civil. Si les principes moraux qui sont sous-jacents au
processus démocratique ne sont eux-mêmes déterminés par rien de plus solide
qu’un consensus social, alors la fragilité du processus ne devient que trop
évidente – là est le véritable défi pour la démocratie.
L’inaptitude des
solutions pragmatiques, à court-terme, devant les problèmes sociaux et éthiques
complexes a été amplement démontrée par la récente crise financière mondiale.
Il existe un large consensus pour reconnaître que le manque d’un solide
fondement éthique de l’activité économique a contribué aux graves difficultés
qui éprouvent des millions de personnes à travers le monde entier. De même que
« toute décision économique a une conséquence de caractère moral » (Caritas
in veritate, 37), ainsi, dans le domaine politique, la dimension éthique a
des conséquences de longue portée qu’aucun gouvernement ne peut se permettre
d’ignorer. Nous trouvons un exemple positif de cela dans l’un des succès
particulièrement remarquable du Parlement britannique : l’abolition de la
traite des esclaves. La campagne qui a abouti à cette législation reposait sur
des principes éthiques solides, enracinés dans la loi naturelle, et fut ainsi
rendue une contribution à la civilisation dont votre nation peut justement être
fière.
Mais alors la question
centrale qui se pose est celle-ci : où peut-on trouver le fondement éthique des
choix politiques ? La tradition catholique soutient que les normes objectives
qui dirigent une action droite sont accessibles à la raison, même sans le
contenu de la Révélation. Selon cette approche, le rôle de la religion dans le
débat politique n’est pas tant celui de fournir ces normes, comme si elles ne
pouvaient pas être connues par des non-croyants – encore moins de proposer des
solutions politiques concrètes, ce qui de toute façon serait hors de la
compétence de la religion – mais plutôt d’aider à purifier la raison et de
donner un éclairage pour la mise en œuvre de celle-ci dans la découverte de
principes moraux objectifs. Ce rôle « correctif » de la religion à l’égard de la
raison n’est toutefois pas toujours bien accueilli, en partie parce que des
formes déviantes de religion, telles que le sectarisme et le fondamentalisme,
peuvent être perçues comme susceptibles de créer elles-mêmes de graves
problèmes sociaux. A leur tour, ces déformations de la religion surgissent
quand n’est pas accordée une attention suffisante au rôle purifiant et
structurant de la raison à l’intérieur de la religion. Il s’agit d’un processus
à deux sens. Sans le correctif apporté par la religion, d’ailleurs, la raison
aussi peut tomber dans des distorsions, comme lorsqu’elle est manipulée par
l’idéologie, ou lorsqu’elle est utilisée de manière partiale si bien qu’elle
n’arrive plus à prendre totalement en compte la dignité de la personne humaine.
C’est ce mauvais usage de la raison qui, en fin de compte, fut à l’origine du
trafic des esclaves et de bien d’autres maux sociaux dont les idéologies
totalitaires du 20ème siècle ne furent pas les moindres. C’est pourquoi,
je voudrais suggérer que le monde de la raison et de la foi, le monde de la
rationalité séculière et le monde de la croyance religieuse reconnaissent
qu’ils ont besoin l’un de l’autre, qu’ils ne doivent pas craindre d’entrer dans
un profond dialogue permanent, et cela pour le bien de notre civilisation.
La religion, en d’autres
termes, n’est pas un problème que les législateurs doivent résoudre, mais elle
est une contribution vitale au dialogue national. Dans cette optique, je ne
puis que manifester ma préoccupation devant la croissante marginalisation de la
religion, particulièrement du christianisme, qui s’installe dans certains
domaines, même dans des nations qui mettent si fortement l’accent sur la
tolérance. Certains militent pour que la voix de la religion soit étouffée, ou
tout au moins reléguée à la seule sphère privée. D’autres soutiennent que la
célébration publique de certaines fêtes, comme Noël, devrait être découragée,
en arguant de manière peu défendable que cela pourrait offenser de quelque
manière ceux qui professent une autre religion ou qui n’en ont pas. Et d’autres
encore soutiennent – paradoxalement en vue d’éliminer les discriminations – que
les chrétiens qui ont des fonctions publiques devraient être obligés en
certains cas d’agir contre leur conscience. Ce sont là des signes inquiétants
de l’incapacité d’apprécier non seulement les droits des croyants à la liberté
de conscience et de religion, mais aussi le rôle légitime de la religion dans
la vie publique. Je voudrais donc vous inviter tous, dans vos domaines
d’influence respectifs, à chercher les moyens de promouvoir et d’encourager le
dialogue entre foi et raison à tous les niveaux de la vie nationale.
Votre disponibilité en ce
sens est déjà manifeste par l’invitation exceptionnelle que vous m’avez offerte
aujourd’hui. Et elle trouve aussi une expression dans les questions sur
lesquelles votre Gouvernement a engagé un dialogue avec le Saint-Siège. En ce
qui concerne la paix, il y a eu des échanges à propos de l’élaboration d’un
traité international sur le trafic d’armes ; à propos des droits de l’homme, le
Saint-Siège et le Royaume-Uni se sont réjouis des progrès de la démocratie,
spécialement au cours des soixante-cinq dernières années ; en ce qui concerne
le développement, des collaborations se sont mises en place pour l’allègement
de la dette, pour un marché équitable et pour le financement du développement,
en particulier à travers l’International Finance Facility, l’International
Immunisation Bond et l’Advanced Market Commitment. Le Saint-Siège espère
aussi pouvoir explorer avec le Royaume-Uni de nouvelles voies pour promouvoir
une mentalité responsable vis-à-vis de l’environnement, pour le bien de tous.
Je remarque aussi que
l’actuel Gouvernement a engagé le Royaume-Uni à consacrer 0,7% du revenu
national pour l’aide au développement d’ici à 2013. C’est dernières années des
signes encourageants ont pu être observés de par le monde concernant un souci
plus grand de solidarité avec les pauvres. Mais pour que cette solidarité
s’exprime en actions effectives, il est nécessaire de repenser les moyens qui
amélioreront les conditions de vie dans de nombreux domaines, allant de la
production alimentaire, à l’eau potable, à la création d’emplois, à
l’éducation, au soutien des familles, spécialement les migrants, et aux soins
médicaux de base. Là où des vies humaines sont en jeu, le temps est toujours
court : toutefois le monde a été témoin des immenses ressources que les
gouvernements peuvent mettre à disposition lorsqu’il s’agit de venir au secours
d’institutions financières retenues comme « trop importantes pour être vouées à
l’échec ». Il ne peut être mis en doute que le développement humain intégral
des peuples du monde n’est pas moins important : voilà bien une entreprise qui
mérite l’attention du monde, et qui est véritablement « trop importante pour
être vouée à l’échec ».
Ce panorama de récents
aspects de la coopération entre le Royaume-Uni et le Saint-Siège montre bien
tout les progrès qui ont été accomplis, au long des années qui se sont écoulées
depuis l’établissement de relations diplomatiques bilatérales, afin de
promouvoir, à travers le monde, les nombreuses valeurs fondamentales que nous
partageons. J’espère et je prie pour que ces relations continuent à être
fructueuses, et pour qu’elles se reflètent dans une acceptation croissante du
besoin de dialogue et de respect à tous les niveaux de la société entre le
monde de la raison et le monde de la foi. Je suis convaincu que, dans ce pays
également, il y a de nombreux domaines où l’Église et les autorités civiles
peuvent travailler ensemble pour le bien des habitants, en harmonie avec la
pratique historique de ce Parlement d’invoquer la guidance du Saint-Esprit sur
ceux qui cherchent à améliorer la condition de tous. Afin que cette coopération
soit possible, les groupes religieux – incluant des institutions en relation
avec l’Église catholique – ont besoin d’être libres pour agir en accord avec
leurs propres principes et leurs convictions spécifiques basés sur la foi et
l’enseignement officiel de l’Église. Ainsi, ces droits fondamentaux que sont la
liberté religieuse, la liberté de conscience et la liberté d’association,
seront garantis.
Les anges qui nous
regardent depuis le magnifique plafond de cet antique Palais, nous rappellent
la longue tradition à partir de laquelle le Parlement britannique a évolué. Ils
nous rappellent que Dieu veille constamment sur nous pour nous guider et nous
protéger. Et ils nous invitent à faire nôtre la contribution essentielle que la
croyance religieuse a apportée et continue d’apporter à la vie de la nation.
Monsieur le Speaker, je
vous remercie encore de cette invitation à m’adresser brièvement à cette
assemblée distinguée. Permettez-moi de vous assurer, vous-même et le Lord
Speaker, de mes vœux les meilleurs et de ma prière pour vous et pour les
travaux féconds des deux Chambres de cet antique Parlement. Merci, et que Dieu
vous bénisse !
*L'Osservatore Romano.
Edition hebdomadaire en langue française n°38 p.10, 11.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Chelsea Old Town Hall, Sir Thomas More by Ludwig Cauer. Exhibited at the RA in
1895 and acquired for the library in 1896
INTRODUCTION
Thomas More écrivit en
latin et en anglais. Au début de sa carrière, il semble hésiter entre les deux
langues. La Vie (inachevée) de Richard III existe dans une version latine et
dans une version anglaise. On a de lui des poésies en anglais et d'autres en
latin. Puis, le latin l'emporte. C'est en latin qu'il écrit l'Utopie, commencée
aux Pays-Bas pendant l'été de 1515, achevée à Londres l'année suivante,
imprimée pour la première fois à Louvain par Thierry Martens en 1516. L'ouvrage
eut un tel succès qu'on pouvait s'attendre à voir l'auteur continuer dans cette
veine, et dans la langue qui faisait de l'Europe humaniste une seule et même
patrie intellectuelle. Il n'en est rien. Dès 1520, il revient exclusivement à
la préoccupation essentielle de sa jeunesse, qui avait été toute tournée vers
la vie religieuse, à telle enseigne qu'il avait songé à entrer dans les ordres.
À 42 ans (il est né en 1480), More est l'un des premiers avocats de Londres,
très apprécié de Henry VIII qui a 29 ans et qui est encore un fervent
catholique, au point de vouloir ferrailler contre Luther. Ce dernier ayant
publié la Captivité de Babylone, le roi y répondit par une Défense des Sept
Sacrements, à laquelle More a probablement collaboré. Sous le nom de Gulielmus
Rosseus, More publia encore une Réponse aux injures de Martin Luther, où il se
montre aussi peu modéré que son adversaire. C'était le ton en usage à cette
époque. Toutes ces polémiques sont en latin. Elles expriment mal le génie
véritable de More. Celui-ci n'était nullement fait pour la querelle, fût-elle
théologique. Il était fait pour s'adresser aux gens de son pays, et pour leur
exprimer, avec toute sa courtoisie, toute sa gentillesse naturelle, ce qu'il
pensait de la religion du Christ et du rôle qu'elle devait jouer dans la vie de
chacun.
Le désir de propager une
doctrine religieuse a joué un rôle capital dans le développement des langues
que l'on appelait alors, par opposition au latin, les langues vulgaires. C'est
pour atteindre le peuple que Luther a écrit en allemand, Calvin en français,
que Tyndale, bientôt passé à l'hérésie, traduisit la Bible en anglais. Si
Érasme avait suivi le mouvement, toute l'histoire des lettres néerlandaises
aurait été modifiée. Thomas More, dès 1522, renonce au latin et il écrit en
anglais, ce qui revient à dire qu'il préfère toucher les simples plutôt que de
rester dans le cercle des doctes. Ce choix a fait de lui un des fondateurs de
la prose anglaise. Il écrit une série d'œuvres, souvent conçues sous forme de
dialogues, qui circulèrent certainement de son vivant, au moins en manuscrits.
Mais, à partir de 1530, les rapports se tendirent entre Henry VIII et le pape.
Le roi voulait divorcer d'avec Catherine d'Aragon pour épouser Anne Boleyn et
le pape s'y opposait. More, dans l'intervalle, était devenu Sir Thomas et
chancelier d'Angleterre. Il ne pouvait admettre que l'on désobéît au pape, et
il finit par remettre au roi sa démission de chancelier. Puis, ce qui était
plus grave, il refusa le serment d'obéissance en matière religieuse, que le roi
exigeait. Cela lui valut d'être jugé, condamné pour trahison envers son
souverain, enfermé pendant quinze mois à la Tour et finalement décapité, sa
tête plongée ensuite dans l'eau bouillante pour qu'elle ne pût devenir objet de
vénération. Cela se passait le 6 juillet 1535. Henry vécut jusqu'en 1547. Les
œuvres religieuses de Thomas More ne purent donc pas être imprimées à Londres
avant la parenthèse catholique marquée par le règne de Marie Tudor. Elles
parurent en 1557. C'est un gros volume en lettres gothiques où figurent
seulement les textes anglais.
Ces ouvrages, le Traité
des fins dernières, le Dialogue concernant les hérésies et plusieurs sujets
religieux, la Supplique des âmes du purgatoire, la Réfutation contre Tyndale,
le Dialogue sur le réconfort dans les tribulations enfin, tous ont les mêmes
qualités. Une bonhomie, une humanité charmantes s'y marquent constamment, le
goût le plus simple et le plus vif pour la vie quotidienne observée d'un regard
amusé et pénétrant. Le Dialogue concernant les hérésies traite de diverses
matières telles que la vénération des images et reliques, les prières aux
saints, les pèlerinages, toutes questions brûlantes puisque la propagande
protestante portait précisément sur ces points. On y trouvera aussi, dit le
titre, « bien d'autres choses touchant la pestilentielle secte de Luther et
Tyndale ». Voilà, semble-t-il, une déclaration de guerre. Mais ouvrons le
volume. L'auteur suppose qu'un de ses amis lui communique par l'intermédiaire
d'un messager certains doutes concernant le catholicisme orthodoxe. More reçoit
le messager, l'écoute attentivement, cherche à comprendre son point de vue et
le réfute fermement, mais jamais sans se déprendre d'une parfaite tolérance. En
cours de route, il raconte des anecdotes, comme celle du faux miraculé
Saint-Alban, que Shakespeare a repris dans la seconde partie Henry VII (II, I).
On trouvera dans le présent ouvrage plus d'un intermède de ce genre, empreint
tantôt de la gaillardise des fabliaux, tantôt de la sagesse populaire des
contes d'animaux. Voyez la charmante fable de l'Âne et du Loup qui s'en vont à
confesse. More semble bien y avoir réuni deux histoires différentes : l'Âne
avec son sage confesseur et le Renard confesseur du Loup, aussi peu
recommandable que son pénitent. Elles s'accordent vaille que vaille pour
illustrer cette morale qu'il n'est pas bon d'avoir, trop de scrupules, mais que
cela vaut mieux encore que de n'en avoir point du tout.
Partout rayonne le
profond, le tonique optimisme de More en matière de religion et de morale, sa
confiance dans la raison humaine et dans la bonté de Dieu.
« Ces luthériens sont
fous qui voudraient maintenant tout balayer, excepté l'Écriture, toute science,
laquelle me paraît devoir être et avoir toujours été rangée opportunément au
service de la théologie. Et, comme l'a dit saint Jérôme, les Hébreux ont bien
pris les dépouilles des Égyptiens, les sages du Christ ont pris des auteurs
païens la richesse, la science et la sagesse que Dieu leur avait données et les
ont employées au service de la théologie pour le bénéfice des enfants choisis
par Dieu en Israël pour être l'Église du Christ, païens au cœur dur devenus
enfants d'Abraham » (English Works, p. 154).
Pour More en effet, la
tradition chrétienne n'est pas seulement constituée par l'Écriture, comme le
veulent les protestants, mais aussi par toute l'interprétation qu'en a donnée
et qu'en donne encore l'Église éternelle, et, enfin, par la foi vécue et
pratiquée à l'intérieur de la communauté chrétienne. C'est pourquoi celui qui
veut retourner aux sources de la vie religieuse ne peut se dispenser de lire,
avec les deux Testaments, les Pères et les Docteurs. Contre l'orgueil des
mystiques qui prétendent trouver Dieu dans un élan autonome venu du fond de
leur être, More établit la nécessité des études et l'utilité de la raison mise
au service de la foi. Puis, toujours, il revient à la vie quotidienne et tire
de l'expérience des leçons modestes et justes.
Parmi tous les ouvrages
religieux de More en langue anglaise, le Dialogue du réconfort contre la
tribulation occupe une place toute particulière. More l'a écrit à la Tour en
1534, pendant la longue et pénible captivité qui devait se terminer par son
supplice. On pouvait difficilement imaginer une tribulation plus accablante et
moins méritée. Nul doute qu'il n'ait souvent pensé à lui-même et demandé à Dieu
la grâce de faire servir l'épreuve à son salut. Et cependant, nulle part
n'affleure la moindre préoccupation personnelle, la moindre revendication, la
moindre aigreur. Repris comme au temps de l'Utopie par le goût de la fiction,
More veut que l'ouvrage ait été écrit en latin par un Hongrois, traduit du latin
en français puis du français en anglais, après quoi il parle de Budapest le
plus sérieusement du monde, comme s'il y avait été. Il avait un certain mérite
à monter cette mystification dans les conditions où il était. Au cours de tout
le traité, sa malicieuse bonhomie est aussi allègre que dans ses livres
précédents. La Tour était cependant un séjour terrible et le prisonnier ne
gardait aucune illusion sur le sort qui l'attendait. C'est bien l'homme qui
écrivait à sa fille, à la fin de sa détention :
« Le Seigneur me garde
véridique, fidèle et loyal. Sans cela, je le prie de tout mon cœur de ne pas me
laisser vivre. Car pour ce qui est d'une longue vie, comme je vous l'ai souvent
dit, Meg, je ne l'ai jamais envisagée ni désirée et je suis prêt à m'en aller
si Dieu m'appelle d'ici demain. Et grâce à Dieu je ne connais aucune personne
vivante que je voudrais voir affligée d'une chiquenaude pour ma vie sauve : de
cela je suis plus heureux que de tout le reste. »
Et ailleurs il lui donne
rendez-vous dans le ciel, « pour y être tous gais ensemble », « merry together
»... Jamais il ne perdit cette sérénité.
Le Dialogue n'est pas la
dernière des œuvres qu'il écrivit pendant sa captivité. Au cours des dernières
semaines de sa vie, il rédigea des méditations sur la Passion du Sauveur. Pour
cette Expositio Passionis, il revint au latin de ses jeunes années. Il ne put
terminer l'ouvrage. Les dernières lignes qu'il écrivit sont des réflexions sur
le moment où les soldats s'emparent de Jésus après la nuit au Mont des
Oliviers. Il faut s'imaginer Sir Thomas interrompu à cet endroit, posant la
plume, se levant et suivant, avec sa courtoisie habituelle, les soldats qui
l'emmènent vers le bourreau et le supplice.
Marie Delcourt. «
Introduction » à SAINT THOMAS MORE. Dialogue du réconfort dans les
tribulations
SOURCE : https://livres-mystiques.com/partieTEXTES/Thomas_More/table.htm
.jpg)
Academie des sciences et des arts, contenant les vies, et les eloges
historiques des hommes illustres [...] avec leurs pourtraits tirez sur des
originaux au naturel, et plusieurs inscriptions funebres, exactement
recueïllies de leurs tombeaux / par Isaac Bullart [...]. T. 1. Amsterdam, 1682.
National Library of Poland
Saint Thomas More
(1478 - 1535)
Saint Thomas More naquit
à Londres, le 7 février 1478. Son père remplissait la fonction de juge, dans la
capitale. Thomas passa quelques-unes de ses premières années en qualité de
page, au service du cardinal Morton, alors archevêque de Cantorbéry et
chancelier d’Angleterre. A l’âge de quatorze ans, il alla étudier à Oxford où
il fit de sérieuses études juridiques et suivit les conférences sur la Cité de
Dieu, de saint Augustin.
En 1501, Thomas More
était reçu avocat et élu membre du Parlement trois ans plus tard. Après
quelques années de mariage, il perdit sa femme et demeura seul avec ses quatre
enfants : trois filles et un fils. Il ne se remariera que beaucoup plus tard,
avec une veuve. En père vigilant, il veillait à ce que Dieu restât le centre de
la vie de ses enfants. Le soir, il récitait la prière avec eux ; aux repas, une
de ses filles lisait un passage de l’Ecriture Sainte et on discutait ensuite
sur le texte en conversant gaiement. Jamais la science, ni la vertu, ne prirent
un visage austère dans sa demeure ; sa piété n’en était cependant pas moins
profonde. Saint Thomas More entendait la messe tous les jours ; en plus de ses
prières du matin et du soir, il récitait les psaumes quotidiennement.
Sa valeur le fit nommer
Maître des Requêtes et conseiller privé du roi. En 1529, Thomas More remplaça
le défunt cardinal Wolsey dans la charge de Lord chancelier. Celui qui n’avait
jamais recherché les honneurs ni désiré une haute situation se trouvait placé
au sommet des dignités humaines. Les succès, pas plus que les afflictions,
n’eurent de prise sur sa force de caractère.
Lorsque Henri VIII voulut
divorcer pour épouser Anne Boleyn, et qu’il prétendit devant l’opposition
formelle du pape, se proclamer chef de l’Eglise d’Angleterre, saint Thomas More
blâma la conduite de son suzerain. Dès lors, les bonnes grâces du roi se
changèrent en hostilité ouverte contre lui. Le roi le renvoya sans aucune
ressource, car saint Thomas versait au fur à mesure tous ses revenus dans le
sein des pauvres. Le jour où il apprit que ses granges avaient été incendiées,
il écrivit à sa femme de rendre grâces à Dieu pour cette épreuve.
Le 12 avril 1554,
l’ex-chancelier fut invité à prononcer le serment qui reconnaissait Anne Boleyn
comme épouse légitime et rejetait l’autorité du pape. Saint Thomas rejeta
noblement toute espèce de compromis avec sa conscience et refusa de donner son
appui à l’adultère et au schisme. Après un second refus réitéré le 17 avril, on
l’emprisonna à la Tour de Londres. Il vécut dans le recueillement et la prière
durant les quatorze mois de son injuste incarcération.
Comme il avait fait de toute
sa vie une préparation à l’éternité, la sérénité ne le quittait jamais. Il
avoua bonnement : « Il me semble que Dieu fait de moi Son jouet et qu’Il me
berce. » L’épreuve de la maladie s’ajouta bientôt à celle de la réclusion.
Devenu semblable à un squelette, il ne cessa cependant de travailler en
écrivant des traités moraux, un traité sur la Passion, et même de joyeuses
satires.
L’intensité de sa prière
conservait sa force d’âme : « Donne-moi Ta grâce, Dieu bon, pour que je compte
pour rien le monde et fixe mon esprit sur Toi. » Il disait à sa chère fille
Marguerite : « Si je sens la frayeur sur le point de me vaincre, je me
rappellerai comment un souffle de vent faillit faire faire naufrage à Pierre
parce que sa foi avait faibli. Je ferai donc comme lui, j’appellerai le Christ
à mon secours. »
On accusa saint Thomas
More de haute trahison parce qu’il niait la suprématie spirituelle du roi.
Lorsque le simulacre de jugement qui le condamnait à être décapité fut terminé,
le courageux confesseur de la foi n’eut que des paroles de réconfort pour tous
ceux qui pleuraient sa mort imminente et injuste. A la foule des spectateurs,
il demanda de prier pour lui et de porter témoignage qu’il mourait dans la foi
et pour la foi de la Sainte Église catholique. Sir Kingston, connu pour son
coeur impitoyable, lui fit ses adieux en sanglotant. Il récita pieusement le
Miserere au pied de l’échafaud. Il demanda de l’aide pour monter sur l’échafaud
: « Pour la descente, ajouta-t-il avec humour, je m’en tirerai bien tout seul.
» Il embrassa son bourreau : « Courage, mon brave, n’aie pas peur, mais comme
j’ai le cou très court, attention ! il y va de ton honneur. » Il se banda les
yeux et se plaça lui-même sur la planche.
Béatifié par Léon XIII le
29 décembre 1886, sa canonisation eut lieu le 19 mai 1935.
SOURCE : http://viechretienne.catholique.org/saints/8-saint-thomas-more
_-_Sir_Thomas_More_and_his_Daughter_-_N00425_-_National_Gallery.jpg)
John Rogers Herbert (1810–1890), Sir Thomas
More and his Daughter (Margaret Roper) , 1844, 110.5 x 85.1, Tate, National Gallery
Also
known as
omnium horarum homo (a
man for all seasons, referring to his wide scholarship and knowledge)
6 July (London, England;
Church of England)
1 December as
one of the Martyrs
of Oxford University
Profile
Studied at London and Oxford, England. Page for
the Archbishop of Canterbury. Lawyer.
Twice married,
and a widower he
was the father of
one son and three daughters, and a devoted family man. Writer,
most famously of the novel which coined the word Utopia. Translated with
works of Lucian. Known during his own day for his scholarship and
the depth of his knowledge. Friend of King Henry VIII.
Lord Chancellor of England from 1529 to 1532, a
position of political power second only to the king.
Fought any form of heresy,
especially the incursion of Protestantism into England.
Opposed the king on
the matter of royal divorce, and refused to swear the Oath of Supremacy which
declared the king the
head of the Church in England.
Resigned the Chancellorship,
and was imprisoned in
the Tower of London. Martyred for
his refusal to bend his religious beliefs to the king‘s
political needs.
Born
7 February 1478 at London, England
beheaded on 6 July 1535 on
Tower Hill, London, England
body taken to Saint Peter
ad Vincula, Tower of London, England
his head was parboiled
and then exposed on London Bridge for a month as a warning to other “traitors”;
Margaret Roper bribed the man whose was supposed to throw it into the river to
give it to her instead
in 1824 a
lead box was found in the Roper vault at Saint Dunstan’s Church Canterbury, England;
it contained a head presumed to be More’s
29 December 1886 by Pope Leo XIII
–
politicians (proclaimed
on 31
October 2000 by Pope John
Paul II)
statesmen (proclaimed
on 31
October 2000 by Pope John
Paul II)
–
Society
of Our Lady of Good Counsel
University
of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters
–
Arlington, Virginia, diocese of
Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, diocese of
–
English Lord Chancellor carrying
a book
English Lord Chancellor carrying
an axe
Additional
Information
A
Catholic of the Renaissance, by Father Henry
Browne, S.J.
A
Great Lord Chancellor, by Lord Justice Russell
A
National Bulwark Against Tyranny, by Father Bede
Jarrett, O.P.
A
Saint Who Was A Lawyer, by Eileen Taylor
A
Turning Point in History, by G K Chesterton
Book
of Saints, by Father Lawrence
George Lovasik, S.V.D.
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Catholic
Tradition in English Literature, by George Carver
Conscience
or King?, by Mrs Lang
Franciscan
Herald, by Father Francis
Borgia, O.F.M.
Life
of Sir Thomas More, by William Roper
Margaret
Roper, Daughter of Sir Thomas More, Chancellor of England, by Anna Theresa
Sadlier
Mementoes
of the English Martyrs and Confessors, by Father Henry
Sebastian Bowden
Relics
of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, by Monsignor P
E Hallett
Roman
Martyrology, 1914 edition
Saint
Thomas More Today, by Marie and Tony Shannon
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
Sir
Thomas More’s Fame Among His Countrymen, by Professor R
W Chambers
The
Charge of Religious Intolerance, by Father Ronald
Knox
The
Glory of Chelsea, by Reginald Blunt
The
Witness to Abstract Truth, by Hilaire Belloc
—
Dialogue
of Comfort Against Tribulation, by Saint Thomas
Treatise
on the Blessed Sacrament, by Saint Thomas
books
Catholic Martyrs of
England and Wales 1535-1680, by the Catholic Truth Society
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Oxford Dictionary of Saints, by David Hugh Farmer
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
other
sites in english
1001 Patron Saints and Their Feast Days, Australian
Catholic Truth Society
American Catholic: Patron Saint of Politicians
Center for
Thomas More Studies
Saint Thomas
More Church, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
images
audio
Catholic Culture: Dialogue on Conscience, by Saint Thomas
More
Utopia –
librivox audio book
video
A Dialogue of Comfort in Tribulation, by Saint Thomas More
(audio book)
e-books
on other sites
Life
and Letters of Sir Thomas More, by Agnes M Stewart
Life
and Writings of Sir Thomas More, by Father T E Bridgett
Life
of Sir Thomas More, by Cresacre More
Life
of Sir Thomas More, by William Roper
Memoirs
of Sir Thomas More, volume 1, by Arthur Cayley
Memoirs
of Sir Thomas More, volume 2, by Arthur Cayley
Sir Thomas
More, by Henry Bremond
Sir
Thomas More, His Life and Times, by W Joseph Walter
The
Story of Blessed Thomas More, by a Nun of Tyburn Convent
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
sites
en français
Dicastero delle Cause dei Santi
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
Readings
What does it avail to
know that there is a God, which you not only believe by Faith, but also know by
reason: what does it avail that you know Him if you think little of Him? –
Saint Thomas More
What men call fame is,
after all, but a very windy thing. A man things that many are praising him, and
talking of him alone, and yet they spend but a very small part of the day
thinking of him, being occupied with things of their own. – Saint Thomas
More
Although I know well,
Margaret, that because of my past wickedness I deserve to be abandoned by God,
I cannot but trust in his merciful goodness. His grace has strengthened me
until now and made me content to lose goods, land, and life as well, rather than
to swear against my conscience. God’s grace has given the king a gracious frame
of mind toward me, so that as yet he has taken from me nothing but my liberty.
In doing this His Majesty has done me such great good with respect to spiritual
profit that I trust that among all the great benefits he has heaped so
abundantly upon me I count my imprisonment the very greatest. I cannot,
therefore, mistrust the grace of God. By the merits of his bitter passion
joined to mine and far surpassing in merit for me all that I can suffer myself,
his bounteous goodness shall release me from the pains of purgatory and shall
increase my reward in heaven besides. I will not mistrust him, Meg, though I
shall feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear. I shall
remember how Saint Peter at a blast of wind began to sink because of his lack
of faith, and I shall do as he did: call upon Christ and pray to him for help.
And then I trust he shall place his holy hand on me and in the stormy seas hold
me up from drowning. And finally, Margaret, I know this well: that without my
fault he will not let me be lost. I shall, therefore, with good hope commit
myself wholly to him. And if he permits me to perish for my faults, then I
shall serve as praise for his justice. But in good faith, Meg, I trust that his
tender pity shall keep my poor soul safe and make me commend his mercy. And,
therefore, my own good daughter, do not let you mind be troubled over anything
that shall happen to me in this world. Nothing can come but what God wills. And
I am very sure that whatever that be, however bad it may seem, it shall indeed
be the best. – from a letter written by Saint Thomas More from prison to
his daughter Margaret
Grant me, O Lord, good
digestion, and also something to digest. Grant me a healthy body, and the
necessary good humor to maintain it. Grant me a simple soul that knows to
treasure all that is good and that doesn’t frighten easily at the sight of
evil, but rather finds the means to put things back in their place. Give me a
soul that knows not boredom, grumblings, sighs and laments, nor excess of
stress, because of that obstructing thing called “I”. Grant me, O Lord, a sense
of good humor. Allow me the grace to be able to take a joke to discover in life
a bit of joy, and to be able to share it with others. Amen. – Saint Thomas
More
O God, who in martyrdom
have brought true faith to its highest expression, graciously grant that,
strengthened through the intercession of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, we
may confirm by the witness of our life the faith we profess with our lips.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the
unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. – liturgical collect
MLA
Citation
“Saint Thomas
More“. CatholicSaints.Info. 6 January 2025. Web. 13 May 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-thomas-more/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-thomas-more/
Statue
of Thomas More, Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London. Chelsea Old Church in background.
21 January 2006. Photographer: Fin Fahey.
Statua
di Tommaso Moro vicino alla chiesa vecchia di Chelsea,
Londra
Statue
of Thomas More, Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London. Chelsea Old Church in background.
21 January 2006. Photographer: Fin Fahey.
Statua
di Tommaso Moro vicino alla chiesa vecchia di Chelsea,
Londra
APOSTOLIC LETTER
ISSUED MOTU PROPRIO
PROCLAIMING SAINT THOMAS
MORE
PATRON OF STATESMEN AND
POLITICIANS
POPE JOHN PAUL II
FOR PERPETUAL REMEMBRANCE
1. The life and martyrdom
of Saint Thomas More have been the source of a message which spans the
centuries and which speaks to people everywhere of the inalienable dignity of
the human conscience, which, as the Second Vatican Council reminds us, is "the
most intimate centre and sanctuary of a person, in which he or she is alone
with God, whose voice echoes within them" (Gaudium et Spes, 16). Whenever
men or women heed the call of truth, their conscience then guides their actions
reliably towards good. Precisely because of the witness which he bore, even at
the price of his life, to the primacy of truth over power, Saint Thomas More is
venerated as an imperishable example of moral integrity. And even outside the
Church, particularly among those with responsibility for the destinies of
peoples, he is acknowledged as a source of inspiration for a political system
which has as its supreme goal the service of the human person.
Recently, several Heads
of State and of Government, numerous political figures, and some Episcopal
Conferences and individual Bishops have asked me to proclaim Saint Thomas More
the Patron of Statesmen and Politicians. Those supporting this petition include
people from different political, cultural and religious allegiances, and this
is a sign of the deep and widespread interest in the thought and activity of
this outstanding Statesman.
2. Thomas More had a
remarkable political career in his native land. Born in London in 1478 of a
respectable family, as a young boy he was placed in the service of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, John Morton, Lord Chancellor of the Realm. He then
studied law at Oxford and London, while broadening his interests in the spheres
of culture, theology and classical literature. He mastered Greek and enjoyed
the company and friendship of important figures of Renaissance culture,
including Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam.
His sincere religious
sentiment led him to pursue virtue through the assiduous practice of
asceticism: he cultivated friendly relations with the Observant Franciscans of
the Friary at Greenwich, and for a time he lived at the London Charterhouse,
these being two of the main centres of religious fervour in the Kingdom.
Feeling himself called to marriage, family life and dedication as a layman, in
1505 he married Jane Colt, who bore him four children. Jane died in 1511 and
Thomas then married Alice Middleton, a widow with one daughter. Throughout his
life he was an affectionate and faithful husband and father, deeply involved in
his children’s religious, moral and intellectual education. His house offered a
welcome to his children’s spouses and his grandchildren, and was always open to
his many young friends in search of the truth or of their own calling in life.
Family life also gave him ample opportunity for prayer in common and lectio
divina, as well as for happy and wholesome relaxation. Thomas attended daily
Mass in the parish church, but the austere penances which he practised were
known only to his immediate family.
3. He was elected to
Parliament for the first time in 1504 under King Henry VII. The latter’s
successor Henry VIII renewed his mandate in 1510, and even made him the Crown’s
representative in the capital. This launched him on a prominent career in
public administration. During the following decade the King sent him on several
diplomatic and commercial missions to Flanders and the territory of present-day
France. Having been made a member of the King’s Council, presiding judge of an
important tribunal, deputy treasurer and a knight, in 1523 he became Speaker of
the House of Commons.
Highly esteemed by
everyone for his unfailing moral integrity, sharpness of mind, his open and
humorous character, and his extraordinary learning, in 1529 at a time of
political and economic crisis in the country he was appointed by the King to
the post of Lord Chancellor. The first layman to occupy this position, Thomas
faced an extremely difficult period, as he sought to serve King and country. In
fidelity to his principles, he concentrated on promoting justice and
restraining the harmful influence of those who advanced their own interests at
the expense of the weak. In 1532, not wishing to support Henry VIII’s intention
to take control of the Church in England, he resigned. He withdrew from public
life, resigning himself to suffering poverty with his family and being deserted
by many people who, in the moment of trial, proved to be false friends.
Given his inflexible
firmness in rejecting any compromise with his own conscience, in 1534 the King
had him imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he was subjected to various
kinds of psychological pressure. Thomas More did not allow himself to waver,
and he refused to take the oath requested of him, since this would have
involved accepting a political and ecclesiastical arrangement that prepared the
way for uncontrolled despotism. At his trial, he made an impassioned defence of
his own convictions on the indissolubility of marriage, the respect due to the
juridical patrimony of Christian civilization, and the freedom of the Church in
her relations with the State. Condemned by the Court, he was beheaded.
With the passing of the
centuries discrimination against the Church diminished. In 1850 the English
Catholic Hierarchy was re-established. This made it possible to initiate the
causes of many martyrs. Thomas More, together with 53 other martyrs, including
Bishop John Fisher, was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886. And with John
Fisher, he was canonized by Pius XI in 1935, on the fourth centenary of his
martyrdom.
4. There are many reasons
for proclaiming Thomas More Patron of statesmen and people in public life.
Among these is the need felt by the world of politics and public administration
for credible role models able to indicate the path of truth at a time in
history when difficult challenges and crucial responsibilities are increasing.
Today in fact strongly innovative economic forces are reshaping social
structures; on the other hand, scientific achievements in the area of
biotechnology underline the need to defend human life at all its different
stages, while the promises of a new society — successfully presented to a
bewildered public opinion — urgently demand clear political decisions in favour
of the family, young people, the elderly and the marginalized.
In this context, it is
helpful to turn to the example of Saint Thomas More, who distinguished himself
by his constant fidelity to legitimate authority and institutions precisely in
his intention to serve not power but the supreme ideal of justice. His life
teaches us that government is above all an exercise of virtue. Unwavering in
this rigorous moral stance, this English statesman placed his own public
activity at the service of the person, especially if that person was weak or
poor; he dealt with social controversies with a superb sense of fairness; he
was vigorously committed to favouring and defending the family; he supported
the all-round education of the young. His profound detachment from honours and
wealth, his serene and joyful humility, his balanced knowledge of human nature
and of the vanity of success, his certainty of judgement rooted in faith: these
all gave him that confident inner strength that sustained him in adversity and
in the face of death. His sanctity shone forth in his martyrdom, but it had
been prepared by an entire life of work devoted to God and neighbour.
Referring to similar
examples of perfect harmony between faith and action, in my Post-Synodal
Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici I wrote: "The unity of life of
the lay faithful is of the greatest importance: indeed they must be sanctified
in everyday professional and social life. Therefore, to respond to their
vocation, the lay faithful must see their daily activities as an occasion to
join themselves to God, fulfil his will, serve other people and lead them to
communion with God in Christ" (No. 17).
This harmony between the
natural and the supernatural is perhaps the element which more than any other
defines the personality of this great English statesman: he lived his intense
public life with a simple humility marked by good humour, even at the moment of
his execution.
This was the height to
which he was led by his passion for the truth. What enlightened his conscience
was the sense that man cannot be sundered from God, nor politics from morality.
As I have already had occasion to say, "man is created by God, and
therefore human rights have their origin in God, are based upon the design of
creation and form part of the plan of redemption. One might even dare to say
that the rights of man are also the rights of God" (Speech, 7 April 1998).
And it was precisely in
defence of the rights of conscience that the example of Thomas More shone
brightly. It can be said that he demonstrated in a singular way the value of a
moral conscience which is "the witness of God himself, whose voice and
judgment penetrate the depths of man’s soul" (Encyclical Letter Veritatis
Splendor, 58), even if, in his actions against heretics, he reflected the
limits of the culture of his time.
In the Constitution
Gaudium et Spes, the Second Vatican Council notes how in the world today there
is "a growing awareness of the matchless dignity of the human person, who
is superior to all else and whose rights and duties are universal and
inviolable" (No. 26). The life of Saint Thomas More clearly illustrates a
fundamental truth of political ethics. The defence of the Church’s freedom from
unwarranted interference by the State is at the same time a defence, in the
name of the primacy of conscience, of the individual’s freedom vis-à-vis
political power. Here we find the basic principle of every civil order
consonant with human nature.
5. I am confident
therefore that the proclamation of the outstanding figure of Saint Thomas More
as Patron of Statesmen and Politicians will redound to the good of society. It
is likewise a gesture fully in keeping with the spirit of the Great Jubilee
which carries us into the Third Christian Millennium.
Therefore, after due
consideration and willingly acceding to the petitions addressed to me, I
establish and declare Saint Thomas More the heavenly Patron of Statesmen and
Politicians, and I decree that he be ascribed all the liturgical honours and
privileges which, according to law, belong to the Patrons of categories of
people.
Blessed and glorified be
Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of man, yesterday, today and for ever.
Given at Saint Peter’s,
on the thirty-first day of October in the year 2000, the twenty-third of my
Pontificate.
IOANNES PAULUS PP. II
© Copyright 2000 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS
BENEDICT XVI*
Mr Speaker,
Thank you for your words
of welcome on behalf of this distinguished gathering. As I address you, I am
conscious of the privilege afforded me to speak to the British people and their
representatives in Westminster Hall, a building of unique significance in the
civil and political history of the people of these islands. Allow me also to
express my esteem for the Parliament which has existed on this site for
centuries and which has had such a profound influence on the development of
participative government among the nations, especially in the Commonwealth and
the English-speaking world at large. Your common law tradition serves as the
basis of legal systems in many parts of the world, and your particular vision
of the respective rights and duties of the state and the individual, and of the
separation of powers, remains an inspiration to many across the globe.
As I speak to you in this
historic setting, I think of the countless men and women down the centuries who
have played their part in the momentous events that have taken place within
these walls and have shaped the lives of many generations of Britons, and
others besides. In particular, I recall the figure of Saint Thomas More, the
great English scholar and statesman, who is admired by believers and non-believers
alike for the integrity with which he followed his conscience, even at the cost
of displeasing the sovereign whose “good servant” he was, because he chose to
serve God first. The dilemma which faced More in those difficult times, the
perennial question of the relationship between what is owed to Caesar and what
is owed to God, allows me the opportunity to reflect with you briefly on the
proper place of religious belief within the political process.
This country’s
Parliamentary tradition owes much to the national instinct for moderation, to
the desire to achieve a genuine balance between the legitimate claims of
government and the rights of those subject to it. While decisive steps have
been taken at several points in your history to place limits on the exercise of
power, the nation’s political institutions have been able to evolve with a
remarkable degree of stability. In the process, Britain has emerged as a
pluralist democracy which places great value on freedom of speech, freedom of
political affiliation and respect for the rule of law, with a strong sense of
the individual’s rights and duties, and of the equality of all citizens before
the law. While couched in different language, Catholic social teaching has much
in common with this approach, in its overriding concern to safeguard the unique
dignity of every human person, created in the image and likeness of God, and in
its emphasis on the duty of civil authority to foster the common good.
And yet the fundamental
questions at stake in Thomas More’s trial continue to present themselves in
ever-changing terms as new social conditions emerge. Each generation, as it
seeks to advance the common good, must ask anew: what are the requirements that
governments may reasonably impose upon citizens, and how far do they extend? By
appeal to what authority can moral dilemmas be resolved? These questions take
us directly to the ethical foundations of civil discourse. If the moral
principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by
nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process
becomes all too evident - herein lies the real challenge for democracy.
The inadequacy of
pragmatic, short-term solutions to complex social and ethical problems has been
illustrated all too clearly by the recent global financial crisis. There is
widespread agreement that the lack of a solid ethical foundation for economic
activity has contributed to the grave difficulties now being experienced by
millions of people throughout the world. Just as “every economic decision has a
moral consequence” (Caritas
in Veritate, 37), so too in the political field, the ethical dimension of
policy has far-reaching consequences that no government can afford to ignore. A
positive illustration of this is found in one of the British Parliament’s
particularly notable achievements – the abolition of the slave trade. The campaign
that led to this landmark legislation was built upon firm ethical principles,
rooted in the natural law, and it has made a contribution to civilization of
which this nation may be justly proud.
The central question at
issue, then, is this: where is the ethical foundation for political choices to
be found? The Catholic tradition maintains that the objective norms governing
right action are accessible to reason, prescinding from the content of
revelation. According to this understanding, the role of religion in political
debate is not so much to supply these norms, as if they could not be known by
non-believers – still less to propose concrete political solutions, which would
lie altogether outside the competence of religion – but rather to help purify
and shed light upon the application of reason to the discovery of objective
moral principles. This “corrective” role of religion vis-à-vis reason is not
always welcomed, though, partly because distorted forms of religion, such as
sectarianism and fundamentalism, can be seen to create serious social problems
themselves. And in their turn, these distortions of religion arise when
insufficient attention is given to the purifying and structuring role of reason
within religion. It is a two-way process. Without the corrective supplied by
religion, though, reason too can fall prey to distortions, as when it is
manipulated by ideology, or applied in a partial way that fails to take full
account of the dignity of the human person. Such misuse of reason, after all,
was what gave rise to the slave trade in the first place and to many other
social evils, not least the totalitarian ideologies of the twentieth century.
This is why I would suggest that the world of reason and the world of faith –
the world of secular rationality and the world of religious belief – need one
another and should not be afraid to enter into a profound and ongoing dialogue,
for the good of our civilization.
Religion, in other words,
is not a problem for legislators to solve, but a vital contributor to the
national conversation. In this light, I cannot but voice my concern at the
increasing marginalization of religion, particularly of Christianity, that is
taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place a great emphasis on
tolerance. There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be
silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere. There are those
who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be
discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of
other religions or none. And there are those who argue – paradoxically with the
intention of eliminating discrimination – that Christians in public roles
should be required at times to act against their conscience. These are worrying
signs of a failure to appreciate not only the rights of believers to freedom of
conscience and freedom of religion, but also the legitimate role of religion in
the public square. I would invite all of you, therefore, within your respective
spheres of influence, to seek ways of promoting and encouraging dialogue
between faith and reason at every level of national life.
Your readiness to do so
is already implied in the unprecedented invitation extended to me today. And it
finds expression in the fields of concern in which your Government has been
engaged with the Holy See. In the area of peace, there have been exchanges
regarding the elaboration of an international arms trade treaty; regarding
human rights, the Holy See and the United Kingdom have welcomed the spread of
democracy, especially in the last sixty-five years; in the field of
development, there has been collaboration on debt relief, fair trade and
financing for development, particularly through the International Finance
Facility, the International Immunization Bond, and the Advanced Market
Commitment. The Holy See also looks forward to exploring with the United
Kingdom new ways to promote environmental responsibility, to the benefit of
all.
I also note that the
present Government has committed the United Kingdom to devoting 0.7% of
national income to development aid by 2013. In recent years it has been
encouraging to witness the positive signs of a worldwide growth in solidarity
towards the poor. But to turn this solidarity into effective action calls for
fresh thinking that will improve life conditions in many important areas, such
as food production, clean water, job creation, education, support to families,
especially migrants, and basic healthcare. Where human lives are concerned, time
is always short: yet the world has witnessed the vast resources that
governments can draw upon to rescue financial institutions deemed “too big to
fail”. Surely the integral human development of the world’s peoples is no less
important: here is an enterprise, worthy of the world’s attention, that is
truly “too big to fail”.
This overview of recent
cooperation between the United Kingdom and the Holy See illustrates well how
much progress has been made, in the years that have passed since the
establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, in promoting throughout the
world the many core values that we share. I hope and pray that this
relationship will continue to bear fruit, and that it will be mirrored in a
growing acceptance of the need for dialogue and respect at every level of
society between the world of reason and the world of faith. I am convinced
that, within this country too, there are many areas in which the Church and the
public authorities can work together for the good of citizens, in harmony with
this Parliament’s historic practice of invoking the Spirit’s guidance upon
those who seek to improve the conditions of all mankind. For such cooperation
to be possible, religious bodies – including institutions linked to the
Catholic Church – need to be free to act in accordance with their own
principles and specific convictions based upon the faith and the official
teaching of the Church. In this way, such basic rights as religious freedom,
freedom of conscience and freedom of association are guaranteed. The angels
looking down on us from the magnificent ceiling of this ancient Hall remind us
of the long tradition from which British Parliamentary democracy has evolved.
They remind us that God is constantly watching over us to guide and protect us.
And they summon us to acknowledge the vital contribution that religious belief
has made and can continue to make to the life of the nation.
Mr Speaker, I thank you
once again for this opportunity briefly to address this distinguished audience.
Let me assure you and the Lord Speaker of my continued good wishes and prayers
for you and for the fruitful work of both Houses of this ancient Parliament.
Thank you and God bless you all!
*L'Osservatore Romano 19.9.2010
p.4.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
_093.jpg)
St. Nikolaus (Kuchenheim), Fenster im Schiff, Thomas Morus, Fa. Jacob Melchior, 1894 - 1895
_095.jpg)
St. Nikolaus (Kuchenheim), Fenster im Schiff, Thomas Morus, Fa. Jacob Melchior,
1894 - 1895
(Blessed) Martyr (July 6)
(16th
century) This glorious Martyr,
born in London (A.D. 1480),
on leaving Oxford embraced the Law as
a profession. So successful was he that eventually he succeeded Cardinal Wolsey
as Lord High Chancellor of England,
being the first layman called
to that office. His reputation was European,
and his writings were
distinguished alike by their learning and their orthodoxy. Faithful to his
conscience, both in regard to King Henry’s
divorce and to the pretended Royal Supremacy, he at length forfeited the favour
of the monarch,
whom nothing less than his death could
appease. Blessed Thomas More was beheaded on
Tower Hill, July 6,
A.D. 1535.
His body was buried in
the Tower; but his head was by his daughter placed in a church at Canterbury.
Apart from his martyrdom, his piety, charity, constant cheerfulness and austere
virtue might well have entitled him to a place among canonised Saints.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Thomas More”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
6 July 2016. Web. 13 May 2025. <https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-thomas-more/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-thomas-more/
Morus, Thomas Heiliger Porträ
St. Thomas More
St. Thomas More is the
patron Saint of politicians, statesmen, and lawyers. He was the son of John
More, a prominent lawyer. As a boy he served as a page in the household of
Archbishop Morton. He studied at Oxford, and the public affairs. In 1499 he
determined to become a in public affairs. In 1499 he determined to become a
monk and subjected himself to the discipline of the monk and subjected himself
to the discipline of the Carthusians.
During his early manhood,
he wrote comedies and spent much time in the study of Greek and Latin
literature. One of his first works was a translation of a biography of Pico
della Mirandola (1463-1494); he became a close friend with Desiderius Erasmus
(ca. 1466-1536) and he, like them, became a great humanist.
More’s sense of
obligation to active citizenship and statesmanship finally won out over his
monastic inclinations. He entered the parliament in 1504. In 1510, he was
appointed undersheriff of London.
During the next decade,
More attracted the attention of King Henry VIII, and served frequently on
diplomatic missions to the Low Countries. In 1518 he became a member of the
Privy Council; he was knighted in 1521.
Two years later, More was
made Speaker of the House of Commons. As speaker of the House of Commons in
1523, More helped establish the parliamentary privilege of free speech.
He refused to endorse
King Henry VIII’s plan to divorce Catherine of Aragon (1527) and marry Ann
Boleyn. Nevertheless, after the fall of Thomas Wolsey in 1529, More became Lord
Chancellor of England. He was the first layman to hold the post. His work in
the law courts was exemplary, but he resigned in 1532, citing ill health and
probably feeling that he could not in conscience serve a government that was
interfering with the church.
Two years later he was
imprisoned in the Tower of London for refusing to acknowledge Henry as supreme
head of the Church of England. He was found guilty of treason, on evidence that
was probably perjured. He was beheaded on July 6, 1535 his last words being “”I
die the king’s good servant, but God’s first.” St. Thomas More was canonized in
1935.
SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-thomas-more-2/
Title
woodcut for Utopia written by Thomas
More.
Incisione
del titolo per L'Utopia di Tommaso
Moro.
Thomas More M (RM)
Born in London, England, 1478; died there in 1535; canonized by Pope Pius XI in
1935 as the "Martyr of the Papacy"; feast day formerly on July 6.
"If I am distracted,
Holy Communion helps me become recollected. If opportunities are offered by
each day to offend my God, I arm myself anew each day for the combat by
reception of the Eucharist. If I am in need of special light and prudence in
order to discharge my burdensome duties, I draw nigh to my Savior and seek
counsel and light from Him."
Saint Thomas More
"These things, good
Lord, that we pray for, give us Thy grace to labor for."
Saint Thomas More.
"It is a shorter
thing and sooner done, to write heresies, than to answer them."
Saint Thomas More.
Thomas More studied at
Canterbury Hall, Oxford, and read law at the Inns of Court, being called to the
bar in 1501. Thomas was happiest in the bosom of his family--three generations
living under one roof in Chelsea, and the congenial group of poets, scientists,
and humanists that often gathered in his home, rather than at court.
Henry VIII was a man of
rare personal magnetism; even Sir Thomas yielded to his charm. Thomas's
daughter Margaret married Roper, who writes of More's friendship with Henry
VIII: when the king had finished his devotions on holy days, he would talk to
More about diverse matters, often far into the night. More often dined with the
king and queen. Thomas would try to get two days per month to spend with his family,
but he would be recalled to court. So Thomas tried to change his disposition
before the king to be less likable, until the king started to come to Chelsea
with Thomas and to be merry there. He recognized early that Henry's whims might
prove dangerous to Thomas's health and life.
More had considered the
priesthood in his youth, and of joining the Franciscans, but his confessor
advised against it. In 1505, he married Jane Colt, though it is said he
preferred her younger sister. She bore him four children: Margaret (married
Roper); Elizabeth, Cecily, and John. In the evening, Jane would study for an
hour or two because Thomas wished her to be a scholar, or she would sing or
play the clavichord. Jane died in 1510.
Soon after Jane's death,
he married Alice Middleton, an older woman. Margaret, the eldest child, was
five. Alice was unlearned, but had a great sense of humor. Thomas scolded her
for her vanity and she reproached him for his lack of ambition.
More cared strongly for
his children and their education, especially for Margaret. His home was a
menagerie of birds, monkeys, foxes, ferrets, weasels, etc.
More rose rapidly in
public life despite his lack of ambition. He was a renowned lawyer and elected
to Parliament in 1504 (at age 22). In 1510, he was appointed Undersheriff of
London; 1518, Secretary to Henry VIII; 1521, he was knighted; 1523, chosen Speaker
of Parliament; 1529, Lord Chancellor in succession to Cardinal Wolsey.
Nevertheless, he continued to read, study, and write, and is known more as a
scholar than as a jurist. Yet he was realistic and wrote in Utopia (1516),
"philosophy had no place among kings....it is not possible for all things
to be well, unless all men were good, which I think will not be this good many
years."
He had a horror of luxury
and worldly pomp. He found the lies and flatteries of court nauseating. It
wearied him to be constantly at the King's command. He felt the scholars life
was conducive to a virtuous life of piety toward God and service of his
neighbor.
Virtue and religion were
the supreme concerns of his life. He considered pride the chief danger of
education. Education should inculcate a spirit of detachment from riches and
earthly possessions, along with a spirit of gentleness.
During Henry's reign,
12,000 people were put to death for theft. Thomas as Chancellor was hesitant to
apply the death penalty to heretics.
More was a leader of the
humanists, champion of the study of Greek and Latin classics, sympathetic to
the Renaissance, and an advocate of needed Church reform; yet he was grounded
in the Catholic tradition of the Middle Ages. He was also a friend of Erasmus.
In 1527, Erasmus wrote in a letter, "I wrote the Praise of Folly in times
of peace; I should never have written it if I had foreseen this tempest"
of the Reformation.
Again, Erasmus in a
letter to a monk about to leave his monastery, "...I see no one becoming
better, every one becoming worse, so that I am deeply grieved that in my
writings I once preached the liberty of the spirit....What I desired then was
that the abatement of external ceremonies might much redound to the increase of
true piety. But as it is, the ceremonies have been so destroyed that in place
of them we have not the liberty of the spirit but the unbridled license of the
flesh....What liberty is that which forbids us to say our prayers, and forbids
us the sacrifice of the Mass?"
Thomas More did not think
his Utopia, which is written in Latin, could be safely read by the multitude.
Thomas was imprisoned in
the Tower, because he would not help Henry VIII put away Catherine of Aragon
and supplant the Pope as the head of the Church of England. Thomas More did not
wish to die. "I am not so holy that I dare rush upon death," he
declared; "were I so presumptuous, God might suffer me to fall." But
he could not accept that Henry VIII was supreme head of the church. He resigned
rather than be seen to support the king's divorce.
Thomas More and John
Fisher, two of the noblest men England ever produced, were both sent to the
Tower in 1534 for refusing to take the Oath of Succession, which would obligate
them to recognize Anne Boleyn's children as heirs to the Crown. Both said they
would swear allegiance to any heir the king and Parliament would agree upon,
but this was not satisfactory to Boleyn.
Next Parliament passed
the Act of Supremacy, which made it high treason to refuse to accept the king
as the only head on earth of the Church of England. More was brought to trial
on the perjured testimony of Richard Rich and defended himself against the
inferred act of treason. He was convicted of high treason, and martyred for his
steadfast defense of the indissolubility of marriage and the supremacy of the
pope. After the sentence was issued, he broke his silence. On the scaffold, he
said simply, "I have been ever the king's good and loyal servant, but
God's first" (Benedictines, Bentley, S. Delany)
In art, Saint Thomas
wears a scholar's cap, furred gown, and the chain of the Chancellor of England.
A chalice, Host, and papal insignia may be near him. (There is an unusual
picture of him by Antoine Caron in the Museum at Blois in which he is represented
as an old man with a long beard, surrounded by Roman (sic) soldiers, embraced
by his daughter on his way to execution (Roeder).
The Writing of Saint
Thomas
"Doubtless Christ
could have caused the apostles not to sleep at all, but to stay awake, if that
had been what He wished in an absolute and unqualified sense. But actually His
wish was qualified by a condition -- namely that they themselves wish to do so,
and wish it so effectually that each of them do his very best to comply with
the outward command Christ Himself gave and to cooperate with the promptings of
His inward assistance. In this way He also wishes for all men to be saved and
for no one to suffer eternal torment, that is, always provided that we conform
to His most loving will and do not set ourselves against it through our own
willful malice. If someone stubbornly insists on doing this, God does not want
to waft him off to heaven against his will, as if He were in need of our
services there and could not continue His glorious reign without our support.
Indeed, if He could not reign without us, He would immediately punish many
offenses which now, out of consideration for us, He tolerates and overlooks for
a long time to see if His kindness and patience will bring us to repent. But we
meanwhile abuse this great mercy of His by adding sins to sins, thus heaping up
for ourselves (as the apostle says) a treasure of wrath on the day of wrath
(Rom 2:5).
"Nevertheless, such
is God's kindness that even when we are negligent and slumbering on the pillow
of our sins, He disturbs us from time to time, shakes us, strikes us, and does
His best to wake us up by means of tribulations. But still, even though He thus
proves Himself to be most loving even in His anger, most of us in our gross
human stupidity misinterpret His action and imagine that such a great benefit
is an injury, whereas actually (if we have any sense) we should feel bound to
pray frequently and fervently that whenever we wander away from Him He may use
blows to drive us back to the right way, even though we are unwilling and
struggle against Him.
"Thus we must first
pray that we may see the way and with the Church we must say to God, "From
blindness of heart, deliver us, O Lord." And with the prophet we must say,
"Teach me to do your will" and "Show me your ways and teach me
your paths." Then we must intensely desire to run after you eagerly, O
God, in the odor of your ointments, in the most sweet scent of your Spirit. But
if we grow weary along the way (as we almost always do) and lag so far behind
that we barely manage to follow at a distance, let us immediately say to God,
"Take my right hand" and "Lead me along your path."
"Then if we are so overcome by weariness that we no longer have the heart
to go on, if we are so soft and lazy that we are about to stop altogether, let
us beg God to drag us along even as we struggle not to go. Finally, if we
resist when He draws on us gently, and are stiff-necked against the will of
God, against our own salvation, utterly irrational like horses and mules which
have no intellects, we ought to beseech God humbly in the most fitting words of
the prophet: "Hold my jaws hard, O God, with a bridle and bit when I do
not draw near to you" (Ps 32:9)."
--Saint Thomas More in
The Sadness of Christ
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0622.shtml
Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/1498–1543), Study for the Family of Thomas More / Hans Holbein il Giovane, studio per La
famiglia di Tommaso Moro, circa 1527, Pen and brus in black on top of chalk
sketch, 38.9 x 52.4. Kupferstichkabinett, Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel. This
is a preparatory study for the lost group portrait of the More family.
The astronomer Nikolaus Kratzer (1487-1550), who taught in the More household,
has noted in Latin besides the figures their names and ages. On the left is
Elizabeth Dauncy (1506-1564), Thomas More's youngest daughter, while
beside her is the adopted daughter Margaret Giggs (1508-1570) explaining a point
of text to old Sir John More (c. 1451-1530). Thomas More sits
grandly in the centre, with (left and right of him) the engaged couple Anne
Cresacre (1512-1577) and young John More (c. 1509-1547), Thomas More's
only son. Beside John More, and looking directly out of the picture, is
the household fool, Henry Patenson. On the right of the picture are Cecily
Heron, born 1507, and his eldest daughter, Margaret Roper, (1505-1544); his
second wife, Lady Alice, kneeling at a prie-dieu, rounds off the picture on the
right. http://www.wga.hu/framex-e.html?file=html/h/holbein/hans_y/2drawing/1530/11family.html&find=Thomas+More
Saint Thomas More
Saint, knight,
Lord Chancellor of England,
author and martyr,
born in London,
7 February, 1477-78; executed at
Tower Hill, 6 July, 1535.
He was the sole surviving son of Sir John More, barrister and later judge, by
his first wife Agnes, daughter of Thomas Graunger. While still a child Thomas
was sent to St. Anthony's School in Threadneedle Street, kept by Nicholas Holt,
and when thirteen years old was placed in the household of Cardinal
Morton, Archbishop ofCanterbury,
and Lord Chancellor. Here his merry character and
brilliant intellect attracted
the notice of thearchbishop,
who sent him to Oxford,
where he entered at Canterbury Hall (subsequently absorbed by Christ Church)
about 1492. His father made him an allowance barely sufficient to supply the
necessaries of life and, in consequence, he had no opportunity to indulge in
"vain or hurtful amusements" to the detriment of his studies.
At Oxford he
made friends with William Grocyn and Thomas
Linacre, the latter becoming his first instructor inGreek. Without ever
becoming an exact scholar he mastered Greek "by an instinct of
genius" as witnessed by Pace (De fructu qui ex doctrina percipitur, 1517),
who adds "his eloquence is incomparable and twofold, for he speaks with
the same facility in Latin as in his own language". Besides the
classics he studied French, history,
and mathematics, and also learned to play the flute and the viol. After two
years' residence at Oxford,
More was recalled to London and
entered as a law student
at New Inn about 1494. In February, 1496, he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn as a
student, and in due course was called to the outer bar and subsequently made a
bencher. His great abilities now began to attract attention and the governors
of Lincoln's Inn appointed him "reader" or lecturer on law at
Furnival's Inn, his lectures being esteemed so highly that the appointment was
renewed for three successive years.
It is clear however that law did
not absorb all More's energies, for much of his time was
given to letters. He wrote poetry, both Latin and English,
a considerable amount of which has been preserved and is of good quality,
though not particularly striking, and he was especially devoted to the works
of Pico
della Mirandola, of whose life he published
an English translation some years later. He cultivated the
acquaintance of scholars and learned men and, through his former tutors, Grocyn
and Linacre,
who were now living in London,
he made friends with Colet, Dean of
St. Paul's, and William Lilly, both renowned scholars. Colet became
More's confessor and Lilly vied with him in translating epigrams from the Greek
Anthology into Latin, then joint productions being published in 1518
(Progymnasnata T. More et Gul. Liliisodalium). In 1497 More was introduced
to Erasmus,
probably at the house of Lord Mountjoy, the great scholar's pupil and patron.
The friendship at once became intimate, and later onErasmus paid
several long visits at More's Chelsea house, and the two friends corresponded
regularly until death separated them. Besides law and
the Classics, More read the Fathers with
care, and he delivered, in the Church of St. Lawrence Jewry, a series of
lectures on St.
Augustine's De
civitate Dei, which were attended by many learned men, among whom Grocyn,
the rector of
the church, is expressly mentioned. For such an audience the lectures must
have been prepared with great care, but unhappily not a fragment of them has
survived. These lectures were given somewhere between 1499 and 1503, a period
during which More's mind was
occupied almost wholly with religion and the question of his
own vocation for
the priesthood.
This portion of his life has caused much misunderstanding among his various
biographers. It is certain that
he went to live near the London Charterhouse and
often joined in the spiritual exercises of the monks there.
He wore "a sharp shirt
of hair next his skin, which he never left off wholly" (Cresacre
More), and gave himself up to a life of prayer and penance.
His mind wavered
for some time between joining the Carthusians or
the Observant
Franciscans, both of which orders observed the religious
life with extreme strictness and fervour. In the end, apparently with
the approval of Colet,
he abandoned the hope of becoming a priest or religious,
his decision being due to a mistrust of his powers of perseverance. Erasmus,
his intimate friend and confidant, writes on this matter as follows (Epp. 447):
Meanwhile he applied his whole mind to
exercises of piety,
looking to and pondering on the priesthoodin vigils, fasts and prayers and
similar austerities.
In which matter he proved himself far more prudent than
most candidates who thrust themselves rashly into that arduous profession
without any previous trial of their powers. The one thing that prevented him
from giving himself to that kind of life was that he could not shake off the
desire of the married
state. He chose, therefore, to be a chaste husband
rather than an impure priest.
The last sentence of this passage has led certain writers, notably Mr. Seebohm
and Lord Campbell, to expatiate at great length on the supposed corruption of
the religious orders
at this date, which, they declare, disgusted More so much that he abandoned his
wish to enter religion on that account. Father
Bridgett deals with this question at considerable length (Life and
Writings of Sir Thomas More, pp. 23-36), but it is enough to say that this
view has now been abandoned even by non-Catholic writers, as witness Mr. W.H.
Hutton:
It is absurd to assert that More was disgusted with monastic corruption,
that he 'loathed monks as
a disgrace to the Church'.
He was throughout his life a warm friend of the religious orders,
and a devoted admirer of the monastic ideal.
He condemned the vices of individuals;
he said, as his great-grandson says, 'that at that time religious men
in England had
somewhat degenerated from their ancient strictness and fervour of spirit';
but there is not the slightest sign that his decision to decline themonastic
life was due in the smallest degree to a distrust of the system or a
distaste for the theology of
the Church.
The question of religious
vocation being disposed of, More threw himself into his work at the
Bar and scored immediate success. In 1501 he was elected a member of
Parliament, but as the returns are missing his constituency is unknown. Here he
immediately began to oppose the large and unjust exactions
of money which King Henry VII was making from his subjects through the agency
of Empson and Dudley, the latter being Speaker of the House of Commons. In this
Parliament Henry demanded a grant of three-fifteenths, about 113,000 pounds,
but thanks to More's protests the Commons reduced the sum to 30,000. Some years
later Dudley told More that his boldness would have cost him his head but for
the fact that he had not attacked the king in person. Even as it was Henry was
so enraged with More that he "devised a causeless quarrel
against hisfather,
keeping him in the Tower till he had made him pay a hundred pounds fine" (Roper).
Meanwhile More had made friends with one "Maister John Colte, a
gentleman" of Newhall, Essex, whose oldest daughter, Jane,
hemarried in 1505. Roper writes
of his choice: "albeit his mind most
served him to the second daughter, for that he thought her the fairest and best
favoured, yet when he considered that it would be great grief and some shame
also to the eldest to see her younger sister preferred before her
in marriage, he then, of a certain pity, framed his fancy towards"
the eldest of the three sisters. The union proved a
supremely happy one;
of it were born three daughters, Margaret, Elizabeth, and Cecilia, and a son,
John; and then, in 1511, Jane More died, still almost a child. In the epitaph
which More himself composed twenty years later he calls her "uxorcula
Mori", and a few lines in one of Erasmus' letters
are almost all we know of her gentle, winning personality.
Of More himself Erasmus has
left us a wonderful portrait in his famous letter to Ulrich von Hutten dated 23
July, 1519 (Epp. 447). The description is too long to give in full, but some
extracts must be made.
To begin then with what is least known to
you, in stature he is not tall, though not remarkably short. His limbs are
formed with such perfect symmetry as to leave nothing to be desired. His
complexion is white, his face rather than pale and though by no means ruddy, a
faint flush of pink appears beneath the whiteness of his skin. His hair is dark
brown or brownish black. The eyes are grayish blue, with some spots, a kind
which betokens singular talent, and among the English is considered
attractive, whereas Germans generally
prefer black. It is said that none are so free of vice.
His countenance is in harmony with his character,
being always expressive of an amiable joyousness, and even an incipient
laughter and, to speak candidly, it is better framed for gladness than
for gravity or dignity, though without any approach to folly or buffoonery. The
right shoulder is a little higher than the left, especially when he walks. This
is not a defect of birth, but the result of habit such as we often
contract. In the rest of his person there
is nothing to offend . . .He seems born and framed for friendship, and is a
most faithful and enduring friend . . .When he finds any sincere and according
to his heart, he so delights in their society and
conversation as to place in it the principal charm of life . . .In a word, if
you want a perfect model of friendship, you will find it in no one better than
in More . . .In human affairs
there is nothing from which he does not extract enjoyment, even from things
that are most serious. If he converses with the learned and judicious, he
delights in their talent, if with the ignorant and
foolish, he enjoys their stupidity. He is not even offended by professional
jesters. With a wonderful dexterity he accommodates himself to every
disposition. As a rule, in talking with women,
even with his own wife, he is full of jokes and banter. No one is less led by
the opinions of the crowd, yet no one departs less from common
sense . . . (see Father
Bridgett's Life, p. 56-60, for the entire letter).
More married again very soon after his first wife's death, his choice
being a widow,
Alice Middleton. She was older than he by seven years, a good, somewhat
commonplace soul without
beauty or education ;
but she was a capital housewife and was devoted to the care of More's young
children. On the whole the marriage seems to have been quite
satisfactory, although Mistress More usually failed to see the point of her
husband's jokes.
More's fame as a lawyer was now very great. In 1510 he was made Under-Sheriff
of London,
and four years later was chosen by Cardinal
Wolsey as one of an embassy to Flanders to
protect the interests of English merchants. He was thus absent
from England for
more than six months in 1515, during which period he made the first sketch of
the Utopia,
his most famous work, which was published the following year. Both Wolsey and
the king were
anxious to secure More's services at Court. In 1516 he was granted a pension of
100 pounds for life, was made a member of the embassy to Calais in
the next year, and became a privy councillor about the same time. In 1519 he
resigned his post as Under-Sheriff and became completely attached to the Court.
In June, 1520, he was in Henry's suite
at the "Field of the Cloth of Gold", in 1521 was knighted and
made sub-treasurer to the king. When the Emperor
Charles V visited London in
the following year, More was chosen to deliver the Latin address of
welcome; and grants of land in Oxford and
Kent, made then and three years later, gave further proof ofHenry's favour.
In 1523 he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons on Wolsey's recommendation;
became High Steward of Cambridge
University in 1525; and in the same year was made Chancellor of the
Duchy of Lancaster, to be held in addition to his other offices. In 1523 More
had purchased a piece of land in Chelsea, where he built himself a mansion about
a hundred yards from the north bank of the Thames, with a large garden
stretching along the river. Here at times the king would come as an unbidden
guest at dinner time, or would walk in the garden with his arm round More's
neck enjoying his brilliant conversation. But More had no illusions about the
royal favour he enjoyed. "If my head should win him a castle in France,"
he said to Roper,
his son-in-law, in 1525, "it should not fail to go". The Lutheran controversy
had now spread throughout Europe and,
with some reluctance, More was drawn into it. His controversial writings are
mentioned below in the list of his works, and it is sufficient here to say
that, while far more refined than most polemical writers of the period, there
is still a certain amount that tastes unpleasant to the modern reader. At first
he wrote in Latin but, when the books of Tindal and other English Reformers began
to be read by people of all classes, he adopted English as more fitted to his
purpose and, by doing so, gave no little aid to the development of English
prose.
In October, 1529, More succeeded Wolsey as
Chancellor of England,
a post never before held by a layman.
In matters political, however, he is nowise succeeded to Wolsey's position,
and his tenure of the chancellorship is chiefly memorable for his unparalleled
success as a judge. His despatch was so great that the supply of causes was
actually exhausted, an incident commemorated in the well-known rhyme,
As chancellor it was his duty to enforce the laws against heretics and, by doing so, he provoked the attacks of Protestant writers both in his own time and since. The subject need not be discussed here, but More's attitude is patent. He agreed with the principle of the anti-heresy laws and had no hesitation in enforcing them. As he himself wrote in his "Apologia" (cap. 49) it was the vices of heretics that he hated, not their persons; and he never proceeded to extremities until he had made every effort to get those brought before him to recant. How successful he was in this is clear from the fact that only four persons suffered the supreme penalty for heresy during his whole term of office. More's first public appearance as chancellor was at the opening of the new Parliament in November, 1529. The accounts of his speech on this occasion vary considerably, but it is quite certain that he had no knowledge of the long series of encroachments on the Church which this very Parliament was to accomplish. A few months later came the royal proclamation ordering the clergy to acknowledge Henry as "Supreme Head" of the Church "as far as the law of God will permit", and we have Chapuy's testimony that More at once proferred his resignation of the chancellorship, which however was not accepted. His firm opposition toHenry's designs in regard to the divorce, the papal supremacy, and the laws against heretics, speedily lost him the royal favour, and in May, 1532, he resigned his post of Lord Chancellor after holding it less than three years. This meant the loss of all his income except about 100 pounds a year, the rent of some property he had purchased; and, with cheerful indifference, he at once reduced his style of living to match his strained means. The epitaph he wrote at this time for the tomb in Chelsea church states that he intended to devoted his last years to preparing himself for the life to come.
For the next eighteen months More lived in seclusion and gave much time to controversial writing. Anxious to avoid a public rupture with Henry he stayed away from Anne Boleyn's coronation, and when, in 1533, his nephew William Rastell wrote a pamphlet supporting the pope, which was attributed to More, he wrote a letter to Cromwell disclaiming any share therein and declaring that he knew his duty to his prince too well to criticize his policy. Neutrality, however, did not suit Henry, and More's name was included in the Bill of Attainder introduced into the Lords against the Holy Maid of Kent and her friends. Brought before four members of the Council, More was asked why he did not approve Henry's anti-papal action. He answered that he had several times explained his position to the king in person and without incurring his displeasure. Eventually, in view of his extraordinary popularity, Henry thought it expedient to remove his name from the Bill of Attainder. The incident showed that he might expect, however, and the Duke of Norfolk personally warned him of his grave danger, adding "indignatio principis mors est". "Is that all, my Lord," answered More, "then, in good faith, between your grace and me is but this, that I shall die today, and you tomorrow." In March, 1534, the Act of Succession was passed which required all who should be called upon to take an oath acknowledging the issue of Henry and Anne as legitimate heirs to the throne, and to this was added a clause repudiating "any foreign authority, prince or potentate". On 14 April, More was summoned to Lambeth to take the oath and, on his refusal, was committed to the custody of the Abbot of Westminster. Four days later he was removed to the Tower, and in the following November was attainted of misprision of treason, the grants of land made to him in 1523 and 1525 being resumed by the Crown. In prison, though suffering greatly from "his old disease of the chest . . .gravel, stone, and the cramp", his habitual gaiety remained and he joked with his family and friends whenever they were permitted to see him as merrily as in the old days at Chelsea. When alone his time was given up to prayer and penitential exercises; and he wrote a "Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation", treatise (unfinished) on the Passion of Christ, and many letters to his family and others. In April and May, 1535, Cromwell visited him in person to demand his opinion of the new statutes conferring on Henry the title of Supreme Head of the Church. More refused to give any answer beyond declaring himself a faithful subject of the king. In June, Rich, the solicitor-general, held a conversation with More and, in reporting it, declared that More had denied Parliament's power to confer ecclesiastical supremacy on Henry. It was now discovered that More and Fisher, the Bishop ofRochester, had exchanged letters in prison, and a fresh inquiry was held which resulted in his being deprived of all books and writing materials, but he contrived to write to his wife and favourite daughter, Margaret, on stray scraps of paper with a charred stick or piece of coal.
On 1 July, More was indicted for high treason at Westminster Hall before a special commission of twenty. More denied the chief charges of the indictment, which was enormously long, and denounced Rich, the solicitor-general and chief witness against him as a perjuror. The jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to be hanged at Tyburn, but some days later this was changed by Henry to beheading on Tower Hill. The story of his last days on earth, as given by Roper and Cresacre More, is of the tenderest beauty and should be read in full; certainly no martyr ever surpassed him in fortitude. As Addison wrote in the Spectator (No. 349) "that innocent mirth which had been so conspicuous in his life, did not forsake him to the last . . .his death was of a piece with his life. There was nothing in it new, forced or affected. He did not look upon the severing of his head from his body as a circumstance that ought to produce any change in the disposition of his mind". The execution took place on Tower Hill "before nine of the clock" on 6 July, the body being buried in the Church of St. Peter ad vincula.
The head, after being parboiled, was exposed on London Bridge for a month when Margaret Roper bribed the man, whose business it was to throw it into the river, to give it to her instead. The final fate of the relic is somewhat uncertain, but in 1824 a leaden box was found in the Roper vault at St. Dunstan's, Canterbury, which on being opened was found to contain a head presumed to be More's. The Jesuit Fathers at Stonyhurst possess a remarkable collection of secondary relics, most of which came to them from Father Thomas More, S.J. (d. 1795), the last male heir of the martyr. These include his hat, cap, crucifix of gold, a silver seal, "George", and other articles. The hair shirt, worn by him for many years and sent to Margaret Roper the day before his martyrdom, is preserved by the Augustinian canonesses of Abbots Leigh, Devonshire, to whom it was brought by Margaret Clements, the adopted child of Sir Thomas. A number of autograph letters are in the British Museum. Several portraits exist, the best being that by Holbein in the possession of E. Huth, Esq. Holbein also painted a large group of More's household which has disappeared, but the original sketch for it is in the Basle Museum, and a sixteenth-century copy is the property of Lord St. Oswald. Thomas More was formally beatified by Pope Leo XIII, in the Decree of 29 December, 1886. Note: St. Thomas More was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935.
Writings
More was a ready writer
and not a few of his works remained in manuscript until
some years after his death, while several have been lost altogether. Of all his
writings the most famous is unquestionably the Utopia, first published
at Louvain in
1516. The volume recounts the fictitious travels of one Raphael Hythlodaye, a
mythical character, who, in the course of a voyage to America, was left
behind near Cape Frio and thence wandered on till he chanced upon the Island
of Utopia ("nowhere") in which he found an ideal
constitution in operation. The whole work is really an exercise of the imagination with
much brilliant satire upon the world of More's own day. Real persons,
such as Peter Giles, Cardinal
Morton, and More himself, take part in the dialogue with Hythlodaye, so
that an air of reality pervades the whole which leaves the reader sadly puzzled
to detect where truth ends
and fiction begins, and has led not a few to take the book seriously. But this
is precisely what More intended, and there can be no doubt that
he would have been delighted at entrapping William Morris, who discovered in it
a complete gospel of Socialism ;
or Cardinal
Zigliara, who denounced it as "no less foolish than impious"; as
he must have been with his own contemporaries who proposed to hire a ship and
send out missionaries to his non-existent island. The book ran through a number
of editions in the original Latin version and, within a few years,
was translated into German, Italian, French, Dutch, Spanish,
and English.
A collected edition of More's English works was published by William
Rastell, his nephew, at London in
1557; it has never been reprinted and is now rare and costly. The first
collected edition of the Latin Works appeared atBasle in 1563; a more
complete collection was published at Louvain in
1565 and again in 1566. In 1689 the most complete edition of all appeared
at Frankfort-on-Main,
and Leipzig. After the Utopia the following are the most
important works:
"Luciani Dialogi . .
.compluria opuscula . . . ab Erasmo Roterodamo et Thoma Moro interpretibus
optimis in Latinorum lingua traducta . . ." (Paris, 1506);
"Here is conteigned
the lyfe of John Picus, Earle of Mirandula . . ." (London, 1510);
"Historie of the
pitiful life and unfortunate death of Edward the fifth and the then Duke of York
his brother . . .", printed incomplete in the "English Works"
(1557) and reissued with a completion from Hall's Chronicle by Wm. Sheares
(London, 1641);
"Thomae Mori v.c.
Dissertatio Epistolica de aliquot sui temporis theologastrorum ineptiis . .
." (Leyden, 1625);
Epigrammata...Thomae Mori Britanni, pleraque e Graecis versa. (Basle, 1518);
Eruditissimi viri Gul.
Rossi Opus elegans quo pulcherrime retegit ac refellit insanas Lutheri
calumnias (London, 1523), written at the request of Henry
VIII in answer to Luther's reply
to the royal "Defensio Septem Sacramentorum";
"A dyaloge of Syr
Thomas More Knyght . . .of divers maters, as of the veneration and worshyp of
ymages and relyques, praying to sayntys and goyng on pylgrymage . .
." (London, 1529);
"The Supplycacyon of
Soulys" (London, 1529[?]), written in answer to Fish's "Supplication
of the Beggars";
"Syr Thomas More's
answer to the fyrste parte of the poysoned booke . . . named 'The Souper of the
Lorde'" (London, 1532);
"The Second parte of
the Confutacion of Tyndal's Answere . . ." (London, 1533); these two works
together form the most lengthy of all More's writings; besides Tindal, Robert
Barnes is dealt with in the last book of the whole;
"A Letter impugnynge
the erronyouse wrytyng of John Fryth against the Blessed Sacrament of the
Aultare" (London, 1533);
"The Apologye of Syr
Thomas More, Hnyght, made by him anno 1533, after he had given over the office
of Lord Chancellour of Englande" (London, 1533);
"The Debellacyon of
Salem and Bizance" (London, 1533), an answer to the anonymous work
entitled "Salem and Bizance", and vindicating the severe punishment
of heresy;
"A Dialogue of
Comfort against Tribulation . . ." (London, 1553).
Among the other writings
in the collected volume of "English Works" are the following which
had not been previously published:
An unfinished treatise
"uppon those words of Holy
Scripture, 'Memorare novissima et in eternum non peccabis'", dated 1522;
"Treatise to receive
the blessed Body of our Lorde, sacramentally and virtually both";
"Treatise upon the
Passion" unfinished;
"Certein devout and
vertuouse Instruccions, Meditacions and Prayers";
some letters written in
the Tower, including his touching correspondence with his daughter Margaret.
Huddleston,
Gilbert. "St. Thomas More." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912.14 Mar.
2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14689c.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Marie Jutras.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14689c.htm
.jpg)
Tommaso Moro riceve in carcere la figlia, incisione ottocentesca
SAINT THOMAS MORE MARTYR,
CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND—1535
Feast: July 9
Twice in the history of
England there appears the figure of a great martyr who was also chancellor of
the realm. Thomas Becket, whose story appears earlier in this volume, gave his
life to keep the English Church safe from royal aggression; Thomas More gave
his in a vain effort to preserve it from further aggression. Each was a royal
favorite who loved God more than his king. The coincidence is striking,
although on closer comparison the differences are also striking; first, those
of time and status, between the high ecclesiastic of the late twelfth century
and the layman of the Renaissance; and, more importantly, the differences in
character and way of life.
Thomas More's father was
a highly-esteemed citizen of London, Sir John More, lawyer and judge; his
mother was Agnes, daughter of Thomas Grainger. He was born on Milk Street,
Cheapside, on February 7, 1478. As a child he was sent to St. Anthony's School
in Threadneedle Street, whose director, Nicholas Holt, a fine Latin scholar,
taught boys of good family their classics. At the age of thirteen Thomas was
taken into the household of John Morton, archbishop of Canterbury and Lord
Chancellor, who was soon to become a cardinal. It had long been a custom for
promising youths to be placed in the homes of noblemen and ranking churchmen to
learn the ways of great gentlefolk.
Thomas admired Morton and
he, fortunately, liked the boy, and was instrumental in having him sent on to
Canterbury College, Oxford Sir John More was very strict with his son, allowing
him money only for necessities. Later in life Thomas admitted that his father's
parsimony during this period had the good effect of keeping him at the studies
which he really loved. Linacre, the finest Greek scholar in England, was his
tutor and inspired him with such a zest for Greek literature that his father
feared for the legal career he had planned for his son, and called him home
after only two years at the university. By this time Thomas knew Greek, French,
and mathematics, spoke Latin as well as English, and could play the lute and
the viol-all proper accomplishments for a young gentleman of that day.
In February, 1496, he was
admitted as a student to Lincoln's Inn; in 1501, at twenty- three, he was
called to the bar, and for three years thereafter was reader in law at
Furnival's Inn; then he entered Parliament. He was already a close friend of
the eminent Dutch humanist, Desiderius Erasmus, who had been teaching Greek at
Cambridge and Oxford. Among other friends were Colet, the scholarly dean of St.
Paul's, and William Lilly, with whom he composed epigrams in Latin from the
Greek Anthology. He lectured on St. Augustine's at the church of St.
Lawrence Jewry, of which William Grocyn was rector. All in all, Thomas More was
a versatile, brilliant, and successful young man, as well as extremely popular
and charming. Of his sense of humor, Erasmus wrote, "From childhood he had
such a love for witty jests that he seemed to have been sent into the world for
the sole purpose of coining them; he never descends to buffoonery, but gravity
and dignity were never made for him. He is always amiable and good-tempered,
and puts everyone who meets him in a happy frame of mind."
More was seriously
perplexed as to his vocation. He was strongly attracted by the austere life of
the Carthusian monks, and had some leaning too towards the Friars Minor of the
Observance; but there seemed to be no real call to either the monastic life or
the secular priesthood. Though he remained a man of the world, he kept
throughout life certain ascetic practices; for many years he wore a hair shirt
next his skin, and followed the rules of Church discipline for Fridays and
vigils; every day he assisted at a Mass and recited the Little Office of Our
Lady.
At about this time More
met a certain John Colt of Essex, and became acquainted with his family, which
included three daughters. More now took the decisive step of marriage, choosing
the eldest daughter, Jane. According to his son-in-law, William Roper,[1] he
thought the second daughter fairest, "yet when he considered it would be
both great grief and some shame also to the eldest to see her younger sister
preferred before her in marriage, he then, of a certain pity, framed his fancy
towards her, and soon after married her." He and Jane were nevertheless
very happy together; he set himself to teach her the literary and musical
accomplishments which the wife of a man in More's position needed to have.
Four children were born
to them, Margaret, Elizabeth, Cecily, and John. In addition, several children
of friends were reared in their household, and here More tried out his original
ideas in education. The house was for years a center of learning and culture,
and of high good spirits as well. The girls were taught as carefully as the
boys, a practice for which More had the authority of "prudent and holy
ancients," such as St. Jerome and St. Augustine. At mealtime a passage
from the Scriptures, with a short commentary, was read aloud by one of the
children; afterwards there was singing and merry conversation; cards and dicing
were forbidden. Family and servants met together for evening prayers. More
himself built and endowed a chapel in his parish church of Chelsea, and even
when he had attained the rank of Lord Chancellor he sang in the choir, dressed
in the ordinary surplice.
He was extremely
sensitive to the sufferings of others. "More was used," wrote a
friend, "whenever in his house or in the village he lived in there was a
woman in labor, to begin praying, and so continue until news was brought him
that the delivery had come happily to pass.... His charity was without bounds,
as is proved by the frequent and abundant alms he poured without distinction
among all unfortunate persons. He used himself to go through the back lanes and
inquire into the state of poor families.... He often invited to his table his
poorer neighbors, receiving them . . . familiarly and joyously; he rarely
invited the rich, and scarcely ever the nobility.... In his parish of Chelsea
he hired a house in which he gathered many infirm, poor, and old people, and maintained
them at his own expense." But if the rich were rarely seen at his house,
his friends Grocyn, Linacre, Colet, Lilly, and Fisher, all distinguished for
scholarship and virtue, were frequent visitors; and famous men from across the
Channel sought him out-Erasmus, whom we have spoken of, and Holbein, who has
left us a fine portrait of More as well as a beautiful drawing of the More
family group.
The first years of his
married life were spent in Bucklersbury. Here in spare time More translated
from Latin into English the life of the Italian humanist, Pico della Mirandola,
and, with Erasmus, some of the second-century satirist, Lucian of
Samosata, from Greek into Latin. In 1508 he was abroad visiting the
Universities of Louvain and Paris. He may also have had a hand in Erasmus' most
popular work, , written in More's house that same year. More had led the
opposition in Parliament to excessive royal taxation, and brought the king's
ire down on himself and his father, old Sir John More, who was imprisoned in
the Tower for a time and fined a hundred pounds. In 1509 King Henry VII died,
and the accession of the youthful Henry VIII meant a rise in worldly favor and
fortune for the More family. The following year Thomas was elected a bencher of
Lincoln's Inn and appointed undersheriff for the city of London, an office of
considerable importance.
At almost the same time,
his "little Utopia," as More called the family group, was sadly
shaken by the death of his dutiful young wife. Since More was preoccupied with
many diverse interests and duties, he needed someone to care for the four
children. Within a short time, therefore, he married Alice Middleton, a widow
seven years his senior, a practical and kindly woman. Erasmus wrote of this
marriage: "A few months after his wife's death, he married a widow.... She
was neither young nor fair, as he would say laughingly, but an active and
vigilant housewife, with whom he lived as pleasantly and sweetly as if she had
all the charms of youth. You will scarcely find a husband who by authority or
severity has gained such ready compliance as More by playful flattery."
Some years later More
bought a new house and garden in Chelsea, then a small country village. It was
his home until his death. In 1515 he was away for six months in Flanders, as a
member of an English delegation to negotiate new trade agreements with the
merchants of the Hanseatic League. In the intervals of leisure between business
trips to Antwerp, he now worked on the famous , which he published the
following year. There is no space here to discuss fully the significance of
this remarkable book. It is proof both of More's thoughtful reading of Plato
and of his profound interest in the social, economic, and political problems of
his own time. As undersheriff since 1510, he had been brought into contact with
much suffering, destitution, injustice, and unemployment. His picture of a
commonwealth that was happier and radically different from the realm of
England, one that was free from poverty and inequality, was both a challenge to
constructive political thinking on the part of the statesmen of Europe and a
plea for a better life for people in general. He wrote the book in Latin, that
it might be read by the educated everywhere, and since it was both brilliant
and provocative, it produced strong reactions- amusement, horror, or
admiration. Within three years after its first appearance in Louvain it was
published in Paris, Basle, Florence, Vienna, and Venice. It is that gives
More his high place in the fields of social philosophy and letters.
The king and Cardinal
Wolsey were now set on having More's services at the court.
More had no illusions
about Henry or court life, and knew that he could do little to remedy the vices
which prevailed in the royal circle. Yet his conscience told him that that was
no reason for "forsaking the commonwealth," and that which he could
not turn to good, he must "so order that it be not very bad." In the
year was published he was obliged to accept from the king an annual
pension of a hundred pounds; in 1517 he became a member of the King's Council
and a judge in the Court of Requests. As a member of the Council he accompanied
Henry to the "Field of the Cloth of Gold," where the kings of England
and France vied with one another in magnificence and in making promises that
were soon broken. He was taken as Wolsey's confidant on a diplomatic mission to
Calais and Bruges. In 1521 he was appointed under-treasurer, and
privy-councilor, and raised to knighthood. His awards and honors make a long
catalogue: grants of land in Oxfordshire and Kent; Latin orator in 1523, when
the Emperor Charles V paid a state visit to London; speaker of the House of
Commons, and author of the answer to Martin Luther's attack on the king's
book, ;[2] steward of Oxford University in 1524 and of Cambridge
University in 1525, and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; again, in 1527,
with Wolsey to France, and two years later with Bishop Tunstal of London to
Cambrai to sign the treaty which meant a temporary pause in the wars of Europe.
In October, 1529, Henry chose him as chancellor to succeed Wolsey, who had
roused the king's wrath by opposing his scheme for nullifying his marriage.
Thomas More was the first layman to hold the office.
Erasmus gives us a
picture of More at this period: "In serious matters no man's advice is
more prized, while if the king wishes to recreate himself, no man's
conversation is gayer. Often there are deep and intricate matters that demand a
grave and prudent judge. More unravels them in such a way that he satisfies
both sides. No one, however, has ever prevailed on him to receive a gift for
his decision. Happy the commonwealth where kings appoint such officials! His
elevation has brought with it no pride.... You would say that he had been
appointed public guardian of those in need." Another tribute from More's
confessor speaks of his remarkable purity and devotion. But in spite of his
many honors and achievements, the public esteem which he enjoyed, and the many
tokens of the royal regard, More knew well that there was no security in his
position. "Son Roper," he once said to his son-in-law, "I may
tell thee I have no cause to be proud thereof, for if my head would win him a
castle in France, it should not fail to go."
Although Henry's relations with the Pope had by this time become strained, More's time and thought were largely taken up with the general movement against Church authority in England. He composed answers to Protestant attacks and dealt with problems of heresy. Tyndale, then the leading English Protestant, was his ablest opponent. This scholar and reformer had left England for the Continent, in order to find freedom for the work he wished to do. At Worms he published the first Protestant translation of the New Testament from the Greek text, and at Marburg a translation of the Pentateuch. Tyndale was a better popular debater than More; the Chancellor was moderate and fair, and could top off his scholarly arguments with a shaft of wit, but his style was less vigorous and trenchant. As a controversial writer his chief work was . . . (London, 1529.) Tyndale replied in 153I, and two years later More published a , a discursive treatise in which he touched incidentally on the doctrine of the Pope's infallibility.
In his and again
in (both in 1533) he defended the principle of punishment of heresy by
secular power on the ground that it threatened the peace and safety of the
commonwealth. As Chancellor it was his duty to administer the civil laws of
England, which prescribed the death penalty for obstinate heretics.
Nevertheless, during his term of office only four, it seems, were burned, and
these were relapsed persons, whom he had no power to reprieve.
Actually, it was heresy
and not the heretics that More tried to get rid of.
One of Tyndale's vehement
charges against the Catholics was what he called their failure to give the
complete Bible to the people in a language they understood. His own
translations were being smuggled into England from the Continent and avidly
read.
More favored the
dissemination of selected books of Scripture in the vernacular; the reading of
other books, he thought, should be at the discretion of every man's bishop, who
would probably "suffer some to read the Acts of the Apostles whom he would
not suffer to meddle with the Apocalypse." More added that some of the
best minds among the Catholic clergy were also of this opinion.
When at length the break
between King Henry and the Pope became open and the English clergy were
commanded by Henry to acknowledge him as "Protector and Supreme Head of
the Church of England, . . . so far as the law of Christ allows," More
wished to resign his office, but was persuaded to retain it and turn his attention
to Henry's "great matter"-his petition for a nullification of his
marriage with Catherine of Aragon, on the ground that she had previously been
the wife of his dead brother Arthur. The actual reason behind the petition was
Henry's desire for a male heir and his infatuation with a young woman of the
court, Anne Boleyn. The idea had been mooted first in 1527, and the failure in
1529 of a papal commission under Cardinal Campeggio to grant Henry's request,
had been the cause of the downfall of Wolsey, who, the King thought, might have
persuaded Campeggio to decide in his favor.
This drawn-out affair,
which shook Christendom to its very foundations, was indeed so involved, both
as to fact and law, that men of good will might well disagree on it.
More, after much study of
Church authorities, had become convinced of the validity of Henry's marriage to
Catherine, but, as a layman, had been allowed to refrain from taking sides
publicly. When, in March, 1531, he reported to Parliament on the state of the
case, he was asked for his opinion and refused to give it. In 1532 came the
"submission of the clergy," who were now forced to promise to make no
new laws without the King's consent and to submit the laws they had to a
commission for revision. Later in the year an Act of Parliament prohibited the
payment of annates, or first year's income from Church appointments, to the
Holy See. At this More could no longer stand by in silence. To Henry's
exasperation, he opposed the measure openly, and on May 16 offered his resignation
as chancellor. He had held the office for less than three years.
The loss of his office
and its perquisites reduced More to comparative poverty.
Gathering his family
around him he cheerfully explained the situation, adding, "Then we may yet
with bags and wallets go a-begging together, and hoping that for pity some good
folk will give us their charity, at every man's door to sing , and so keep
company and be merry together." For the next eighteen months he lived very
quietly, occupied with writing. He declined to attend the coronation of Anne
Boleyn, though by the King's order three bishops wrote asking him to come and
sent him money to pay for the necessary robes. He kept the money and stayed at
home, explaining to the bishops that his honor would not allow him to grant
their request, but that he accepted the money with gratitude and without
scruple, since they were rich and he was poor.
More was not permitted to
escape the royal displeasure. The case of the so-called "Holy Maid of
Kent" served as a means of incriminating him. This woman, a Benedictine
nun by the name of Elizabeth Barton, had for some time been creating a
sensation by falling into trances and seeing visions, on the strength of which
she warned evildoers of terrors to come. Eventually she was prevailed upon to
condemn Henry's treatment of Catherine and prophesy his early death. In
consequence she was seized, imprisoned in the Tower, and in April, 1534,
executed for treason. In the bill of attainder drawn up against her were
included, as sharers in her guilt, the saintly bishop of Rochester, John
Fisher, and Thomas More. Fisher had been impressed by the nun's revelations,
and More had seen and spoken to her, and at first given some countenance to her
claims, though he ended by calling her a "false, deceiving
hypocrite." The Lords expressed a wish to hear More for themselves in his
own defense. Henry, knowing well that More had many stanch friends in
Parliament, had the charge against him withdrawn.
In March Pope Clement VII
formally pronounced the marriage of Henry and Catherine valid and therefore not
to be annulled. A week later an Act of Succession was pushed through
Parliament, requiring all the king's subjects to take oath to the effect that
his union with Catherine had been no lawful marriage, that his union with Anne
Boleyn was a true marriage, and that their offspring would be legitimate heirs
to the throne, regardless of the objections of "any foreign authority,
prince, or potentate." Opposition to this Act was declared high treason. On
April 13 More and Fisher were offered the oath before a royal commission at
Lambeth; they accepted the new line of royal succession established by the Act
but refused to subscribe to it as a whole, since it was a clear defiance of the
Pope's authority to decide a question involving a sacrament of the Church.
Thereupon Thomas More was committed to the custody of one of the commissioners,
William Benson, abbot of Westminster. Henry's new favorite, Thomas Cranmer,
urged the King to compromise, but he would not. The oath was again tendered and
again refused, and More was imprisoned in the Tower.
The fifteen months that
he spent in prison were borne with a serene spirit; the tender love of his wife
and children, especially that of his daughter Margaret, comforted him.
He rejected all efforts
of wife and friends to induce him to take the oath and so pacify Henry.
Visitors were forbidden towards the end, and in his solitude he wrote the
noblest of his religious works, the .
In November he was
formally charged with the crime of treason, and all the lands and honors
granted him by the Crown were forfeited. Save for a small pension from the
Order of St. John of Jerusalem, his family was almost penniless; Lady More sold
her fine clothing to buy necessaries for him, and twice she petitioned the king
for his release on the plea of sickness and poverty. In February, 1535, the Act
of Supremacy came into operation; this conferred the title of Supreme Head of
the Church of England, without qualification, on the king, and made it treason
to refuse it. In April, Thomas Cromwell, Henry's hardfisted new secretary and
councilor, called on More to elicit from him his opinion of this Act, but he
would not give it. Margaret visited him on May 4 for the last time, and from
the window of his cell they watched three Carthusian priors and one
Bridgittine, who would not acknowledge a civil supremacy over the Church, go to
their execution. "Lo, dost thou not see, Meg," he said, "that
these blessed fathers be now as cheerfully going to their deaths as bridegrooms
to their marriage? . . .
Whereas thy silly father,
Meg, that like a most wicked caitiff hath passed the whole course of his
miserable life most sinfully, God, thinking him not worthy so soon to come to
that eternal felicity, leaving him here yet still in the world, further to be
plagued and turmoiled with misery." A few days later Cromwell with other
officials questioned him again and taunted him for his silence. "I have
not," he said gently, "been a man of such holy living as I might be
bold to offer myself to death, lest God for my presumption might suffer me to
fall."
On June 22 Bishop John
Fisher was beheaded on Tower Hill. Nine days later More himself was formally
indicted and tried in Westminster Hall. By this time he was so weak that he was
permitted to sit during the proceedings. He was charged with having opposed the
Act of Supremacy, both in conversation with members of the Council who had
visited him in prison, and in an alleged discussion with Rich, the
solicitor-general.
More maintained that he
had always refrained from talking with anyone on the subject and that Rich was
swearing falsely. However, he was found guilty and condemned to death. Then at
last he spoke out his mind firmly.
No temporal lord, he
said, could or ought to be head of the spirituality. But even as St. Paul
persecuted St. Stephen "and yet be they now both twain holy saints in
Heaven, and shall continue there friends for ever, so I verily trust, and shall
therefore right heartily pray, that though your lordships have now here in
earth been judges of my condemnation, we may yet hereafter in Heaven merrily
all meet together to everlasting salvation."
On his way back to the
Tower he said farewell to Margaret, who broke through the guard to reach him,
and four days later, now deprived of pen and ink, he wrote her his last letter
with a piece of coal, sending with it his hair shirt, a relic now in care of
the Canonesses Regular of Newton Abbot. Early in the morning of July 7, Sir
Thomas Pope, a friend, came to inform him that he was to die that day at nine
o'clock. More thanked him, said he would pray for the king, and with talk of a
joyful meeting in Heaven strove to cheer up his weeping friend. When the hour
came he walked out to Tower Hill, and mounted the scaffold, with a jest for the
lieutenant who helped him climb it.
To the bystanders he
spoke briefly, asking for their prayers and their witness that he died in faith
of the Holy Catholic Church and as the king's loyal subject. He then knelt and
repeated the psalm Miserere; after which he encouraged the executioner, though
warning him that his neck was very short and he must take heed to "strike
not awry." So saying, he laid down his head and was beheaded at one
stroke. His body was buried in the church of St. Peter-ad-Vincula within the
Tower; his head, after being exposed on London Bridge, was given to Margaret
and laid in the Roper vault in the church of St. Dunstan, outside the West Gate
of Canterbury. There, presumably, it still is, beneath the floor under the
organ, at the east end of the south aisle.
More was beatified by
Pope Leo XIII in 1886, along with other English martyrs, and canonized in 1935.
Had he never met death for the faith he still would have been a candidate for
canonization as a confessor. From first to last his life was singularly pure,
lived in the spirit of his own prayer: "Give me, good Lord, a longing to
be with Thee; not for the avoiding of the calamities of this wicked world, nor
so much for the avoiding of the pains of purgatory, nor the pains of Hell
neither, nor so much for the attaining of the joys of Heaven in respect of mine
own commodity, as even for a very love of Thee."
Dialogue of Comfort
against Tribulation[3] iii, 27. ... men will fall, is ready to run upon us
and devour us.... Therefore when he roareth out upon us in the threats of
mortal men, let us tell him that with our inward eye we see him well enough and
intend to stand and fight with him, even hand to hand. If he threaten us that
we be too weak, let us tell him that our captain Christ is with us and that we
shall fight with his strength which hath vanquished him already. And let us
fence us in with faith and comfort us with hope and smite the devil in the face
with a firebrand of charity. For surely if we be of the tender loving mind that
our master was and do not hate them that kill us, but pity them and pray for
them, with sorrow for the peril that they make for themselves, that fire of
charity, thrown in his face, striketh the devil suddenly so blind that he cannot
see where to fasten a stroke on us.
When we feel us too bold,
remember our own feebleness. When we feel us too faint, remember Christ's
strength. In our fear, let us remember Christ's painful agony that himself
would for our comfort suffer before his passion to the intent that no fear
should make us despair. And ever call for his help such as himself wills to
send us. And then need we never to doubt but that either he shall keep us from
the painful death, or shall not fail so to strengthen us in it that he shall
joyously bring us to heaven by it. And then doeth he much more for us than if
he kept us from it. For as God did more for poor Lazarus in helping him
patiently to die of hunger at the rich man's door than if he had brought to him
at the door all the rich glutton's dinner, so, though he be gracious to a man
whom he delivereth out of painful trouble, yet doeth he much more for a man if
through right painful death he deliver him from this wretched world into
eternal bliss.
From which whosoever shrink
away, forsaking his faith, and falleth in the peril of everlasting fire, he
shall be very sure to repent it ere it be long after. For I ween that
whensoever he falleth sick next, he will wish that he had been killed for
Christ's sake before....
But to fear while the
pain is coming, there is all our trouble. But then if we would remember hell
pain on the other side, into which we fall while we flee from this, then should
this short pain be no hindrance at all. And we should be still more pricked forward,
if we were faithful, by deep considering of the joys of heaven, of which the
Apostle saith: ". . . The passions of this time are not worthy of the
glory that is to come which shall be shown in us."[4] We should not, I
ween, cousin, need much more on all this whole matter than that one text of St.
Paul, if we would consider it well. For surely, mine own good cousin, remember
that if it were possible for me and you alone to suffer as much trouble as the
whole world doth together, all that were not worthy of itself to bring us to
the joy which we hope to have everlastingly. And therefore I pray you let the
consideration of that joy put all worldly trouble out of your heart, and also
pray that it may do the same in me.
(, Everyman Edition.)
Consider well that both
by night and day While we most busily provide and care For our disport, our
revel, and our play, For pleasant melody and dainty fare, Death stealeth on
full slily; unaware He lieth at hand and shall us all surprise, We wot not when
nor where nor in what wise.
When fierce temptations
threat thy soul with loss Think of His Passion and the bitter pain, Think on
the mortal anguish of the Cross, Think on Christ's blood let out at every vein,
Think on His precious heart all rent in twain; For thy redemption think all
this was wrought, Nor be that lost which He so dearly bought.
Endnotes
1 Roper was the husband
of More's beloved eldest daughter, Margaret. As a boy he was one of those
brought into the More home to be educated, and later he wrote an admiring life
of his father-in-law.
2 Martin Luther, the
German monk who became leader of the Protestant movement in Europe, had
published in 1520 three tracts in which he denounced the current corruption of
the clergy, papal government in general, and the sacramental system of the
Church. The following year Henry VIII, with advice from More, brought out an
answer to Luther's argument, the . Luther in turn replied to King Henry.
3 was written by
More during the last few months of his life, when already he envisaged what was
before him. It is in the form of a conversation between two Hungarian
Christians, an old man and his nephew, preparing themselves to face the
invasion of the Turkish army, which then threatened Eastern Europe. None who
read the little book could fail to see in the Moslem Grand Turk ordering
Christian captives to abjure their faith on pain of death the figure of the
English king ordering his subjects to betray what they felt was Christ's
church. It was published in 1553, the year in which Henry VIII's Catholic
daughter Mary came to the throne.
4 Romans viii, 18.
Saint Thomas More,
Martyr, Chancellor of England. Celebration of Feast Day is July 9.
Taken from "Lives of
Saints", Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc.
Provided Courtesy of:
Eternal Word Television Network. 5817 Old Leeds Road. Irondale, AL 35210
SOURCE : http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/thomasmo.htm
Interior of the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia.
Mementoes
of the English Martyrs and Confessors – Blessed Thomas More, Layman
Born 7 February 1478, in
Cheapside, London, he was sent to Saint Antony’s School, Threadneedle Street,
and was then placed in the household of Cardinal Moreton, Archbishop of
Canterbury and Lord Chancellor. At the age of fourteen he was sent to Oxford,
and studied under Linacre and Grocyn, and four years later became a lecturer at
Furnival’s Inn. In his twenty-fifth year he had serious thoughts of becoming a
religious. “The world was made up,” he wrote, “of false love and flattery, of
hatred and quarrels, and of all that ministered to the body and the Devil.”
Being near the Carthusians, he imitated their austerities, wore a hair shirt, took
the discipline on Fridays and Fast Days, said Lauds, Matins, and the
Penitential Psalms, and always heard an entire Mass daily. This practice he
continued throughout his life, and observed it so religiously that when the
King once sent for him while he was hearing Mass he would not stir until the
Mass was finished, although the summons was twice or thrice repeated. To the
Royal messenger urging him to come without delay, he said that he thought first
to perform his duty to a better Man than the King was, nor was the King then
angered with Sir Thomas’s boldness.
King Henry VIII took such pleasure in More’s company that he would sometimes upon the sudden come to his house at Chelsea to be merry with him, whither on a time unlocked for he came to dinner, and after dinner, in a fair garden of his, walked with him by the space of an hour holding his arms about his neck. Of all of which favours he made no more account than a deep wise man should do. Wherefore, when that after the King’s departure his son-in-law, Mr. William Roper, rejoicingly came unto him saying these words, “Sir, how happy are you whom the King hath so familiarly entertained, as I have never seen him do to any other except Cardinal Wolsey, whom I have seen his Grace walk withal arm in arm,” Sir Thomas More answered in this sort: “I thank our Lord, son, I find his Grace my very good Lord indeed, and I believe he doth as singularly favour me as he doth any subject within this realm. Howbeit, Son Roper, I have no cause to be proud thereof, for if my head could win him one castle in France, it should not fail to serve his turn.”
“Tindale conceals the
meaning of words by his translation [of the Bible]. For priest he
substitutes senior, for the Church the congregation, confession becomes knowledge,
and penance, repentance. He changes grace into favour,
whereas every favour is not grace in England, for in some favour there is
little grace…. A contrite heart he changes into a troubled heart,
and many more things like and many texts untruly translated for the maintenance
of heresy. The most foolish heretic in the town may write more false heresies
in one leaf than the wisest man in the whole world can well and conveniently by
reason and authority confute in forty. These evangelical brethren think my works
too long. But also Our Lady’s psalter think they too long by all the Ave
Marias, and some good piece of the Creed too. Then the Mass think they too long
by the Secrets and the Canon. Instead of a long Breviary, a short primer shall
serve them; and yet the primer without Our Lady s Matins. And the seven Psalms
think they long enough without the Litany; and as for dirge or commemoration
for their friends souls, all that service is too long.” – Saint Thomas
More
On Henry VIII assuming
the title of Supreme Head of the Church, More resigned his chancellorship, and,
being thereby reduced to extreme poverty, he thus announced the change to his
family:
“I have been brought up
at Oxford, at an Inn of Chancery, at Lincoln’s Inn, and also in the King’s
Court, and so from the least degree to the highest, and yet my revenues are now
a little above a hundred pounds the year. So that we must, if we like to live
together, become contributors together. But we had better not fall to the
lowest fare first. We will not therefore descend to Oxford fare, nor to the
fare of New’s Inn, but we will begin with Lincoln’s Inn diet, which, if we find
ourselves unable to maintain, then will we next year after go one step down to
New Inn fare. If that exceed our ability too, then will we the next year after
descend to Oxford fare, where many grave, ancient, and learned fathers be
conversant continually; which if our ability stretch not to maintain neither,
then may we yet with bags and wallets go a-begging together, and hoping for pity
some good folk will give their charity, at every man’s door to sing Salve
Regina, and so keep company merrily together.”
MLA
Citation
Father Henry Sebastian
Bowden. “Blessed Thomas More, Layman”. Mementoes
of the English Martyrs and Confessors, 1910. CatholicSaints.Info.
22 April 2019. Web. 14 May 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/mementoes-of-the-english-martyrs-and-confessors-blessed-thomas-more-layman/>
.jpg)
SS John Fisher & Thomas More in St Osmund, Salisbury
Blessed
Thomas More, by Father Francis Borgia, O.F.M.
Article
The sudden and unexpected
confiscation of the Observant friaries in 1534 has made it impossible to write
anything like a complete and accurate history of the Third Order in medieval
England. That the Order was widely known and fostered, however, we may safely
conjecture from the singular popularity of the Franciscans in England as well
as from their characteristic zeal for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the
people. Indeed, this conjecture grows almost to certainty, when we hear that in
the course of time many of the upper classes joined the Third Order, and that
in particular Queen Catherine, the first wife of Henry VIII, and Blessed Thomas
More, his Lord Chancellor, were Franciscan Tertiaries.
Blessed Thomas More was
born 7 February 1478, in Milk Street, Cheapside, London. His pious and learned
father, Sir John More, served as barrister and later as judge in the Court of
the King’s Bench. His mother, Agnes Graunger, died a few years after his birth.
Thomas received his elementary training in Saint Antony’s School, Threadneedle
Street, which under the direction of Nicholas Holt was considered the best of
its kind in London. Unusually endowed in heart and mind, he made rapid progress
at school, and at the age of thirteen he was graduated with high honors. Thinking
the boy too young for university life, his prudent father placed him as page in
the service of Cardinal Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor of
England. This saintly and learned prelate soon detected the promising qualities
of the quick-witted and winsome lad. Once he remarked to his guests: “This
child here waiting at the table, whosoever shall live to see it, will prove a
remarkable man.” At the same time, the sanctity and learning of the Cardinal
made a lasting impression on the sensitive heart of Thomas; and it was here, no
doubt, that the future martyr first imbibed those lofty ideals of personal
holiness and that heroic zeal for truth and justice which made him such a
stanch and fearless opponent of heresy and schism.
In 1492, the Cardinal
prevailed on Sir John More to let the boy pursue a higher course of studies at
Oxford. He was accordingly admitted as a student in Canterbury College. The
Renaissance had already found its way to Oxford, and Thomas, engaged in the
study of Greek and Latin., conceived a strong predilection for the ancient
classics, and was ever after enthusiastic for the classic revival. Still,
unlike many humanists of the time, he never sacrificed to pagan ideals his
religious convictions, but always remained pure at heart and faithful to Christ
and his Church. We are told that his college life was “free from all excesses
of play and riot.” His father well aware of the dangers to which his son was
exposed at the university kept him very strict. He allowed him no pocket money
and gave him barely sufficient means to defray the necessary expenses of food
and clothing. Later in life, More frequently recalled the poor “Oxford fare at
the same time admitted: “It was thus that I indulged in no vice or pleasure,
and spent my time in no vain or hurtful amusements; I did not know what luxury
meant, and never learned to use money badly; in a word, I loved and thought of
nothing but my studies.” Hence it is not surprising to find that while studying
at Oxford he began those practices of prayer and penance which he continued to
the end of his life. We are told that he held frequent and severe fasts, was
assiduous in prayer, scourged himself, and wore a hair-shirt next to his skin.
It was probably at this time that he joined the Third Order of Saint Francis.
After about two years,
Thomas answered his father’s call and returned to London. His father wished him
to prepare for the bar. Hence, in 1496, we find him studying law at Lincoln’s
Inn. Here he made such rapid progress that after an unusually short period of
study he was for three successive years appointed lecturer on law at Furnival’s
Inn. His spare time, however, he devoted to his beloved classics, and
especially to the Latin and the Greek Fathers of the Church. About this time he
delivered a series of lectures on Saint Augustine’s De Civitate Dei in
the church of Saint Lawrence Jewry in London. Many learned men were present to
hear the youthful jurist. For the next three years we find More leading a
retired life with the Carthusians at the Charterhouse in London. He had serious
doubts regarding his vocation and thinking himself called by God to the
priesthood, he lived without vows the life of a Carthusian. He spent much time
in prayer and meditation, studied French with great zeal, and incidentally
applied himself to history, mathematics, and the natural sciences. For a time
he and his friend, William Lilly, thought of joining the Franciscans
Observants. Finally, however, on the advice of his confessor, he gave up the
idea of choosing the spiritual state and turned his attention to public
affairs.
In 1504, he was elected a
member of parliament. Shortly after, an event occurred that foreshadowed the
later defender of truth and justice. King Henry VII had a bill introduced
demanding of the people the enormous sum of 113,000 pounds sterling for
Princess Margaret, who had recently married James IV of Scotland. More opposed
the bill as unjust and unreasonable and effected that parliament voted the much
smaller sum of 30,000 pounds sterling. The enraged King unable to mulct the
“beardless boy” who as yet had no independent estate, vented his anger on the
elder More, whom, by devising “a causeless quarrel,” he fined 100 pounds
sterling and cast into the Tower till the sum was paid. The unhappy son was
advised by Bishop Fox that an apology would appease the King; but Thomas who
had only done his duty in defending the people refused to make it and would
have left England had not the King died soon after.
The accession of Henry
VIII in 1509, augured well for the future welfare of the kingdom. He was
already acquainted with Thomas More, having met him about ten years before in
company with Erasmus of Rotterdam, and received a poem from him. Since then,
Henry had heard much of the promising barrister and cherished a high esteem for
his virtue and learning. Accordingly, he soon summoned him to court and assured
him of his royal favor and friendship. In 1510, More was appointed Under
Sheriff of London. As Master of Requests he was almost constantly at court, and
the youthful King not only consulted him on political matters but especially
delighted in conversing with him on scientific questions.
Amid all these royal
blandishments, More preserved his independent character. In 1517, he had to
defend the Pope’s cause against the English realm regarding the forfeiture of a
papal ship. He argued so well that the star chamber decided in favor of the
Pope. Henry gladly returned the ship and far from being displeased with More
sought only to win his valuable service for himself. As royal speaker, More had
frequently to make the Latin address; thus at the famous meeting of Henry VIII
with Francis I of France in the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and again two years
later, at the solemn entry of Emperor Charles V and Henry VIII in London.
Though More enjoyed the
esteem and confidence of Cardinal Wolsey and in turn had great respect for the
Cardinal’s eminent qualities, it happened that on one occasion he found it his
duty publicly to oppose him in Council. Wolsey was peeved and exclaimed, “Are
you not ashamed, Mr. More, being the last in place and dignity to dissent from
so many noble and prudent men? You show yourself a foolish councilor.” More
calmly replied, “Thanks be to God that his royal Highness has but one fool in
his Council.” On another occasion, the Cardinal, displeased with More’s policy,
said, “Would to God you had been at Rome, Master More, when I made you
Speaker.” “Your grace not offended,” replied More, “so would I too, my Lord.”
In 1521, More was knighted
by the King and subsequently appointed member of the Privy Council and
Sub-treasurer of the Exchequer. Two years later, parliament elected him speaker
in the House of Commons. About this time, he was active against the heresy of
Luther and assisted the King in writing his famous Assertio Septem
Sacramentorum. In 1525, he became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Having
been repeatedly employed on important foreign embassies, he, in 1529, acted as
English ambassador at the signing of the Treaty of Cambray. When, in 1529,
Wolsey fell in royal displeasure, he succeeded him as Lord Chancellor of
England.
Throughout his public
career More’s attitude toward the Church and her institutions was one of ready
obedience and unstinted devotion. Indeed, he lamented the grave . abuses in the
Church and joined his friend Erasmus of Rotterdam in the general cry for
reform; but he never approved, much less shared, his friend’s cynical and
rebellious spirit. Further, it would be wrong to deduct More’s religious views
from his famous Utopia. This satire was written before Luther, under the
guise of a reformer, had raised the standard of revolt against the Church. We
know, too, how readily More would have burned the book had he foreseen that the
enemies of the Church would profit by it. In 1523, he wrote a book against
Luther and urged Erasmus to exert his learning and influence against the
heresiarch. For religious orders as such, More had the deepest reverence. This
became clear when, in 1529, he called Fish to task and by his Supplication
of Souls in Purgatory sought to offset the evil influence of the
latter’s Supplication of Beggars, a scurrilous and slanderous diatribe on
the religious orders in the Church.
But let us now turn to
More’s domestic and private life. In 1505, he married Jane Colt. After six
years, however, his wife died leaving him with four small children, Margaret,
Elizabeth, Cecily, and John. From an epitaph More wrote twenty years later, we
see how fondly he cherished her memory. But he had now to provide for the
children and hence married Alice Middleton, a widow who proved a kind mother
and a dutiful discreet housewife. After living twelve years in Crosby Place,
the More family moved to their new home at Chelsea, a village outside of
London. Their spacious house so famous in history stood in a beautiful garden
that bordered on the river Thames. Here More would resort when free from State
duties to find peace and comfort in the company of his loved ones. He took
special delight in the education of his children for whom he engaged able and
reliable tutors. Even when not at home, he superintended their studies. Once he
wrote to Margaret, his favorite daughter: “I beg you, Margaret, tell me about
the progress you are making in your studies. For, I assure you that, rather
than allow my children to be idle and slothful, I would make a sacrifice of
wealth, and bid adieu to other cares and business, to attend to my children and
family, amongst whom none is more dear to me than yourself, my beloved
daughter.” In a letter to Gunnell their tutor he says that his children are “to
put virtue in. the first place, learning in the second; and in their studies to
esteem most whatever may teach them piety towards God, charity to all, and
modesty and Christian humility in themselves.”
Erasmus, a frequent
visitor at the Chelsea home, says that it was a school of Christianity where
piety and virtue were in full bloom. Daily the household would gather for
evening devotion. All had to attend Mass on Sundays and holydays, and on the
vigils of feasts like Christmas and Easter they had to be present at the
midnight chanting of the office. At table, one of the girls read a passage from
Holy Scripture concluding as is done in convents with: Tu autem. Domine,
miserere nobis. Then a commentary from one of the Holy Fathers would be read
or, if some learned man happened to be there, a discussion was held on the
text, till finally More himself would change the topic by some well chosen jest
or story.
Conformably with the rule
of the Third Order, More was especially devoted to the poor and sick. He would
visit them personally and relieve their needs by liberal alms. He would
frequently invite the poor of the neighborhood to his table and even as
chancellor converse familiarly with them. In his practice as lawyer he never
exacted fees from widows and orphans. A home for the infirm, poor, and aged in
the parish of Chelsea bore testimony to his boundless charity.
We have seen how as
student at Oxford he practiced prayer and penance. This personal holiness only
increased with years. Next to his library he had a chapel where he spent many
an hour in close communion with God. If possible, he heard Mass every day and
frequently served the priest. His collection of private prayers and his psalter
gleaned from the Fathers of the Church are still extant. When one day the Duke
of Norfolk found him in church among the singers clothed in a surplice, and
objected that the King would be displeased with such an act, the noble
Chancellor replied: “My master the King cannot be displeased at the service I
pay to his Master God,” More never assumed a new office in the State or
undertook an important work without seeking counsel and strength in Holy
Communion. After his martyrdom, in 1535, his confessor wrote of him: “This
Thomas More was my ghostly child; in his confession (he used) to be so pure, so
clean, I never heard many such He was devout in his divine service, and wore a
great hair (shirt) next his skin”.” One evening, More was at table with his
family. When he removed the Chancellor’s gown, Anne Cresacre, his
daughter-in-law, noticed the hair-shirt and began to laugh. When Margaret told
him of it later, he felt sorry, for he wished no one but her to know of his
penance.
Such was the man whom
Henry VIII, in 1519, appointed Lord Chancellor of England. Though truly devoted
to his King and country, Thomas More never lost sight of God and Heaven. In
fact, we may safely say he was true to his King because he was true to God and
only when Henry succumbed to his lower passions did his noble and saintly
Chancellor oppose his lawless policy and fearlessly unfurl the standard of
truth and justice.
It was with a heavy heart
that Blessed Thomas More yielded to the will of the King and became Lord
Chancellor of England. He realized that Henry was no longer the high-minded and
God-fearing prince of former years; and in the fall of Cardinal Wolsey the new
chancellor saw clearly what his own lot would be, when once the King’s “secret
affair” should involve the divine rights of the Papacy. Gloomy presentiments,
indeed, must have enveloped his noble soul when on 26 October 1529, he accepted
the great seal and took the required oath of office.
A few months later, on
February 11, the conflict began. Parliament wholly subservient to the King
issued a royal proclamation by which the clergy were to acknowledge Henry
“protector and only supreme head of the church and clergy of England.” Though
this new title was not clearly adverse to papal supremacy, it was at least
ill-omened, so that when More heard of the action of parliament, he proffered
his resignation. But pressed by the King to reconsider the matter, he remained
in office and again studied the question of papal supremacy. Finding he could
not reconcile his conscience with the King’s demand, he assumed a policy of
silence. Henry was satisfied, hoping in time to win over the chancellor.
Thus a year passed by,
when on May 13, the King demanded of parliament to suspend the payment of the
Annates to the Pope and to relax the English laws against heresy. Needless to
say, More used all his influence to crush these bills. Though the King
concealed his anger, More foresaw the conflict he would soon have to face. He
needed more time now for prayer and penance and on May 16, again pressed the King
to relieve him of the chancellorship. This time Henry accepted his resignation,
after praising and thanking More for his long and faithful service. Indeed, by
his justice, integrity, prudence, and eloquence the chancellor had gained the
esteem of entire Europe. On May 22, Chapuys wrote: “The Chancellor has resigned
;for he saw that matters were growing worse from day to day and that he would
be forced to act against his conscience or. as was already the case, incur the
displeasure of the King were he to remain longer in office Everybody is
indignant; for never did a better man hold this office.”
More’s resignation meant
poverty and distress for himself and his family. Deprived of his professional
income he was forced to reduce his extensive household. Having found suitable
places for his servants and having disposed of all luxuries and superfluities
he told his dear ones of his plans, cheerfully adding, that if later they
should have nothing to live on, “then may we yet, with bags and wallets, go
a-begging together. . . . at every man’s door to sing Salve Regina, and so
still keep company and be merry together.” Although the family remained at
Chelsea, More’s poverty was 50 great that “he was not able for the maintenance
of himself and such as necessarily belonged unto him, sufficiently to find
meat, drink, fuel, apparel, and such other necessary charges.”
During these days of deep
distress and dark forebodings, More’s one thought was to arm himself by prayer
and penance for the final struggle. Although he maintained a strict neutrality
on the momentous questions then agitating the country, Cromwell and Henry set
on by Anne Boleyn made repeated attempts to ruin him in the eyes of the people.
In 1533, they linked his name with that of the Holy Maid of Kent. But in a
letter to Cromwell, More fully established his innocence, and later, having
been deceived by her supposed confession of guilt, he even denounced the
saintly nun. The two Franciscan Observants, Fathers Rich and Risby, who had
conferred with him on the character of the nun, likewise declared his
innocence. But his enemies eager for his ruin, placed his name on the bill of
attainder against the nun and her adherents, thus making him guilty of treason
and death. No doubt, he would have been executed with them had not the Lords
begged the King on their knees to take More’s name from the bill and to await a
more “just” cause for vengeance.
On 30 March 1534, the Act
of Succession was passed. It necessarily implied, in fact its preamble openly
advanced, a rejection of papal supremacy. A commission was appointed before
which, More was informed, he would have to appear on April 13, at Lambeth. He
had previously written to Cromwell that his soul would be “in right great if
peril, he should follow the other side and deny the primacy to be provided by
God.” Whatever others might hold, to him it was now a matter of conscience, for
which he was ready to suffer all. On the morning of April 13, he attended holy
Mass for the last time at Chelsea and received the sacraments. Then he bade
farewell to his grief- stricken family. His own heart, too, was steeped in
sorrow. “I thank our Lord the field is won,” he said to his son-in-law, William
Roper, when the boat struck off from shore and he cast a last look on his
beautiful Chelsea home.
From a letter which he
wrote to his daughter Margaret four days later, we learn how steadfastly he
refused to take the oath which the Commission presented to him, always
maintaining that it would imperil his conscience. Accused of obstinacy and
pride in placing his own private judgment over the decision of learned and
God-fearing men who had already taken the oath, More replied, “If there were no
more than myself upon my side, and the whole parliament upon the other, I would
be sore afraid to lean to mine own mind only against so many. But on the other
side, if it so be that in some things, for which I refuse the oath, I have (as
I think I have) upon my part as great a Council and a greater too, I am not
then bounden to change my conscience and conform it to the Council of one
realm, against the general Council of Christendom.” He declared expressly that
he saw no peril in swearing the Act of Succession as such, but only in as far
as it rejected papal supremacy.
The hearing over, More
was placed with the Abbot of Westminster. The King seemed at a loss how to
proceed. Cranmer proposed a compromise that would save More and at the same
time make it appear to the public as if he had taken the oath. But Henry would
not hear of this; he wanted More’s submission in set terms, and wholly
influenced by Anne Boleyn, at last declared that More would have to choose
between taking the full oath and going to prison. Of course, the servant of God
chose the latter, and on April 17, he was thrown into the Tower.
Though torn from those he
loved, the martyr found the seclusion of prison quite to his liking. The
conviction that his cause was just and holy, greatly consoled him. The prison
was now his monastery where he could pray and study to his heart’s content.
Although in poor health he continued his wonted mortifications. He never put
off the rough hair-shirt and took the discipline regularly. His Dialogue
of Comfort Against Tribulation written in prison breathes the spirit of
one living in most intimate union with God.
After a month of
imprisonment, he was visited by his favorite daughter Margaret. His enemies
hoped that on her entreaties he would submit. In vain, however, she pleaded and
argued; his loyalty to God stood firm against earthly affections. In reply to a
letter which he received from her soon after, he wrote in part: “If I had not
been, my dearly beloved daughter, at a firm and fast point, I trust, in God’s
great mercy this good great while before, your lamentable letter had not a
little abashed me, surely far above all other things, of which I hear divers
times not a few terrible toward me. But surely they all touched me never so
near, nor were they so grievous unto me, as to see you, my well-beloved child,
in such vehement piteous manner, labor to persuade unto me the thing wherein I
have, of pure necessity for respect unto mine own soul, so often given you so
precise an answer before.”
Lady More was also
permitted to visit her husband. Once she chided him for preferring a filthy
prison cell to his fair home at Chelsea. “Is not this house,” he retorted, “as
near heaven as mine own?” – “Tilly vally, tilly vally,” she interrupted, “Bone
Deus, man, will this gear never be left?” – “Well then, Mistress Alice,”
continued the martyr, “if it be so, it is very well.” He asked why he should
put much joy in a house that would so soon cease to be his, and then added,
“Tell me, Mistress Alice, how long do you think we may live and enjoy it?” –
“Some twenty years,” was her ready reply. – “Truly,” the man of God answered,
“if you had said some thousand years it had been somewhat; and yet he were a
very bad merchant that would put himself in danger to lose eternity for a
thousand years; how much the rather, if we are not sure to enjoy it one day to
the end.”
In the course of time,
More’s imprisonment became more severe. Finally, all visits were prohibited,
and what pained him most, he was no longer allowed to attend Mass. In November,
the lands he had received from Henry ten years before, were confiscated by
parliament. This made his family almost penniless. They appealed to the King;
but the cruel tyrant only gloated over their misery.
In April, l535, Cromwell
visited the prisoner to exact from him a definite statement on the King’s
supremacy. But More shrewdly evaded an open declaration and simply owned
himself a faithful subject of the King. In May, Cromwell repeated the visit.
Accused of cowardice, since for fear of death he dared not speak his mind
openly, More gave the beautiful answer, “I have not been a man of such holy
living that I might be bold to offer myself to death, lest God for my
presumption might suffer me to fall.” About this time, he was writing a
treatise on the Passion of Christ and had just come to the words, “They laid
hands on Jesus,” when officials came and took away his books and writing
material. These had been his last solace in prison. But he gladly made the
sacrifice and henceforth devoted all his time to prayer and mortification.
Asked one day by the gaoler why he always kept the blind down and sat in
darkness, he answered playfully, “What should I do? When the wares are taken
away, should not the shop be closed?
A conversation which he
held with Rich, the Solicitor General, on June 12, proved fatal. Asked by the
tempter whether he would consider him (Rich) Pope, if parliament would declare
him such, More seeing the trap asked in turn, “Suppose parliament would make a
I law that God should not be God, would you then say that God were I not God?”
– “No, sir,” answered Rich, “that I would not; since no parliament may make any
such law.” – “No more,” replied More, “could the parliament make the King
Supreme Head of the Church.” That was enough; Rich forthwith reported the
matter, and on July 1, More was indicted of high treason for “maliciously, traitorously,
and devilishly” denying the supremacy of the King.
He was summoned to court
for a hearing. “To make the greater impression on the people, perhaps to add to
his shame and sufferings, More was led on foot, in a coarse woolen gown,
through the most frequented streets, from the Tower to Westminster Hall. The
color of his hair which had lately become gray, his face, which, though
cheerful, was pale and emaciated, and the staff, with which he supported his
feeble steps, announced the vigor and duration of his confinement.” His
appearance in court and his subsequent reply to the various accusations made a
deep impression on all. When finally the judge passed the sentence of death
against him and declared that he was to be hanged, drawn, and quartered, the holy
man rose quietly from his seat. Now it was time for him to make a public
profession of faith. “Since I am condemned to death,” he said, “and God knows
how, I wish to speak freely of your statute for the discharge of my conscience.
For the seven years that I have studied the matter, I have not read in any
approved doctor of the Church that a temporal lord could or ought to be head of
the spirituality.” – “What, More,” broke in the chancellor Sir Thomas Audley,
“you wish to be considered wiser and of better conscience than all the nobles
and bishops of this realm?” – “My Lord,” answered More, “for one bishop of your
opinion I have a hundred saints of mine; and for one parliament of yours, and
God knows of what kind, I have all the General Councils for 1,000 years; and
for one kingdom, I have all the kingdoms of Christendom I hope, in the divine
goodness and mercy, that as Saint Paul and Saint Stephen, whom he persecuted,
are now friends in Paradise, so we, though differing in this world, shall be
united in perfect charity in the other. I pray God to protect the King and give
him good counsel.”
He was then brought back
to prison. When Margaret waiting at the Tower Wharf saw her condemned father,
she ran up to him, fell about his neck and kissed him. With mingled joy and
sorrow he comforted and blessed her. But not satisfied, his affectionate
daughter ran to him a second time; “and at last, with a full and heavy heart,
was fain to depart from him: the beholding whereof was to many of them that
were present thereat so lamentable, that it made them for very sorrow, to weep
and mourn.” Later, when the martyr saw that Sir William Kingston, constable of
the Tower, was weeping, he said, “Good Master Kingston, trouble not yourself,
but be of good cheer; for I will pray for you, and my good lady your wife, that
we may meet in heaven together, where we shall be merry for ever and ever.”
No date was fixed for the
execution. But More knew that the end was near and he spent the remaining few
days in closest union with God. On July 5, the day before his martyrdom, he
sent his hairshirt to Margaret with a letter that read in part: “Our Lord bless
you, good daughter, and your husband. and your little boy, and all yours, and
all my children, and all my god-children, and all our friends. . . . I cumber
you, good Margaret, much; but I should be sorry if it should be any longer than
tomorrow. . . . Farewell, my dear child, and pray for me and I shall pray for
you and all your friends that we may merrily meet in heaven.” When told that
the King had commuted his punishment to decapitation, he replied, “God preserve
all my friends from such favors.”
Early next morning, July
6, Sir Thomas Pope informed the martyr that he would be beheaded at nine
o’clock ” that morning. “Master Pope,” was thie cheerful reply, “for your good
tidings I heartily thank you. I have always been much bounden to the King’s
Highness. . . . Yet more bounden am I to his Grace for putting me into this
place, where I have had convenient time and space to have remembrance of my
end. And therefore will I not fail earnestly to pray for his Grace, both here,
and also in the world to come.”
At nine o’clock, he was
led from the Tower to the place of execution. When he placed his foot on the
ladder, he noticed that the scaffold shook and turning to Kingston, he said
with a smile, “I pray you, Master Lieutenant, see me safe up, and for my coming
down let me shift for myself.” Then he mounted the scaffold, and turning to the
large gathering of people briefly asked them “to pray for him and to bear
witness with him, that he should now there suffer death in and for the faith of
the Holy Catholic Church.” With profound devotion he recited the psalm Miserere,
and when the executioner begged his forgiveness, the martyr kissed him tenderly
and encouraged him to do his duty. Then having blindfolded his eyes, with a
cloth he had brought with him, he knelt down at the block. The executioner had
already raised the ax, when the holy man signed for a moment’s delay, and moved
aside his beard, because, as he said, it evidently had never committed treason.
Then he once more laid his head on the block, and while his lips moved in
prayer, the fatal blow was dealt that won for him a martyr’s crown.
When the news of his
execution was brought to the King, he was playing at backgammon with Anne
Boleyn. Turning to her he said angrily, “Thou art the cause of this man’s
death.”
By order of the Governor,
the martyr’s body was given to Margaret, who had it laid to rest in the chapel
of Saint Peter ad Vincula in the Tower. The head was impaled on London Bridge.
Here it remained pbout fourteen days, till Margaret found means to remove it.
For a time she preserved it with herself in a leaden box, but afterwards placed
it in a vault in Saint Dunstan’s Church in Canterbury.
Thus lived and died the
great Tertiary Chancellor of England, “loyal to his sovereign to the last, yet
giving his life for the higher loyalty he owed to the Vicar of Christ, and
bearing himself in every relation of life with the freehearted joy fulness of
one for whom no earthly pleasures, cares, or trials could cloud over the blue
horizon beyond which lay the vision of God.”
MLA
Citation
Franciscan
Herald, XXX 1917. CatholicSaints.Info.
15 October 2022. Web. 14 May 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-thomas-more-by-father-francis-borgia-o-f-m/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-thomas-more-by-father-francis-borgia-o-f-m/
_Sakramentskapelle_13.JPG)
St. Bonifatius (Gießen) - Saint
Elisabeth of Hungary on stained-glass windows in Germany - Thomas More on
stained-glass windows - Stained-glass windows in Hesse
A
Turning Point in History, by G K Chesterton
Blessed
Thomas More is more important at this moment than at any moment since his
death, even perhaps the great moment of his dying; but he is not quite so
important as he will be in about a hundred years time. He may come to be
counted the greatest Englishman, or at least the greatest historical character
in English history. For he was above all things historic; he represented at
once a type, a turning point and an ultimate destiny. If there had not happened
to be that particular man at that particular moment, the whole of history would
have been different.
We might put the point
shortly by saying that the best friend of the Renaissance was killed as the
worst enemy of the Reformation. More was a humanist, not only in the sense in
which many crabbed and pedantic scholars earned that name by their real
services to Greek and Latin scholarship, but in the sense that his scholarship
was really both human and humane. He had in him, at that relatively early date,
all that was best in Shakespeare and Cervantes and Rabelais; he had not only
humour but fantasy. He was the founder of all the Utopias; but he used Utopia
as what it really is, a playground. His Utopia was partly a joke; but since his
time Utopians have seldom seen the joke. He was even famous for taking things
lightly; he talked, I believe, about whipping children with peacock’s feathers;
and there came to be a legend that he died laughing. We have to realise him as
a man thus full of the Renaissance before we come with a sort of shock to the
reality of his more serious side.
The great Humanist was
above all a Superhumanist. He was a mystic and a martyr; and martyrdom is
perhaps the one thing that deserves the cant phrase of practical mysticism. But
he was not, like so many mystics of his time, one who lost his common sense in
face of the mysteries. And it will remain a permanent and determining fact, a
hinge of history, that he saw, in that first hour of madness, that Rome and
Reason are one. He saw at the very beginning, what so many have now only begun
to see at the end: that the real hopes of learning and liberty lay in
preserving the Roman unity of Europe and the ancient Christian loyalty for
which he died.
– July, 1929
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/a-turning-point-in-history-by-g-k-chesterton/
The Life of Sir Thomas
More (1478-1535)
"The King's good servant, but God's first."1
Thomas More was born in Milk Street, London on February 7, 1478, son of Sir John More, a prominent judge. He was educated at St Anthony's School in London. As a youth he served as a page in the household of Archbishop Morton, who anticipated More would become a "marvellous man."1 More went on to study at Oxford under Thomas Linacre and William Grocyn. During this time, he wrote comedies and studied Greek and Latin literature. One of his first works was an English translation of a Latin biography of the Italian humanist Pico della Mirandola. It was printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1510.
Around 1494 More returned to London to study law, was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1496, and became a barrister in 1501. Yet More did not automatically follow in his father's footsteps. He was torn between a monastic calling and a life of civil service. While at Lincoln's Inn, he determined to become a monk and subjected himself to the discipline of the Carthusians, living at a nearby monastery and taking part of the monastic life. The prayer, fasting, and penance habits stayed with him for the rest of his life. More's desire for monasticism was finally overcome by his sense of duty to serve his country in the field of politics. He entered Parliament in 1504, and married for the first time in 1504 or 1505, to Jane Colt.2 They had four children: Margaret, Elizabeth, Cicely, and John.
More became a close friend with Desiderius Erasmus during the latter's first visit to England in 1499. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship and correspondence. They produced Latin translations of Lucian's works, printed at Paris in 1506, during Erasmus' second visit. On Erasmus' third visit, in 1509, he wrote Encomium Moriae, or Praise of Folly, (1509), dedicating it to More.
One of More's first acts in Parliament had been to urge a decrease in a proposed appropriation for King Henry VII. In revenge, the King had imprisoned More's father and not released him until a fine was paid and More himself had withdrawn from public life. After the death of the King in 1509, More became active once more. In 1510, he was appointed one of the two under-sheriffs of London. In this capacity, he gained a reputation for being impartial, and a patron to the poor. In 1511, More's first wife died in childbirth. More soon married again, to Alice Middleton. They did not have children.
During the next decade, More attracted the attention of King Henry VIII. In 1515 he accompanied a delegation to Flanders to help clear disputes about the wool trade. Utopia opens with a reference to this very delegation. More was also instrumental in quelling a 1517 London uprising against foreigners, portrayed in the play Sir Thomas More, possibly by Shakespeare. More accompanied the King and court to the Field of the Cloth of Gold. In 1518 he became a member of the Privy Council, and was knighted in 1521.
More helped Henry VIII in writing his Defence of the Seven Sacraments, a repudiation of Luther, and wrote an answer to Luther's reply under a pseudonym. More had garnered Henry's favor, and was made Speaker of the House of Commons in 1523 and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1525. As Speaker, More helped establish the parliamentary privilege of free speech. He refused to endorse King Henry VIII's plan to divorce Katherine of Aragón (1527). Nevertheless, after the fall of Thomas Wolsey in 1529, More became Lord Chancellor.
While his work in the law courts was exemplary, his fall
came quickly. He resigned in 1532, citing ill health, but the reason was
probably his disapproval of Henry's stance toward the church. He refused to
attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn in
June 1533, a matter which did not escape the King's notice. In 1534 he was one
of the people accused of complicity with Elizabeth Barton,
the nun of Kent who opposed Henry's break with Rome, but was not
attainted due to protection from the Lords who refused to pass the bill until
More's name was off the list of names.3
In April, 1534, More refused to swear to the Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy, and was committed to the Tower of London on April 17. More was found guilty of treason and was beheaded alongside Bishop Fisher on July 6, 1535. More's final words on the scaffold were: "The King's good servant, but God's First." More was beatified in 1886 and canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1935
1. Last words on the scaffold, 1535, according to Paris Newsletter, August 4, 1535:
"qu'il mouroit son bon serviteur et de Dieu premierement."
2. Ackroyd, Peter. The Life of Thomas More. New York: Anchor Books., 1999.
3. The
Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Ian Ousby, Ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Other local biographical resources:
From Burnet's History
of the Reformation: More and Fisher Refuse the Oath
From Froude's History
of England: The Execution of Sir Thomas More
William
Roper's "Mirror of Virtue": Life of Sir Thomas More -
RE
"Pilgrimage to the Home of Thomas More" - Harper's Magazine, 1850 (.PDF)
Bibliography:
Ackroyd, Peter. The Life of Thomas More. (1998)
Fox, Alistair. Thomas More: History and Providence. (1983)
Fox, Alistair. Utopia: An Elusive Vision. (1992)
Logan, George M. The Meaning of More's Utopia (1983)
Marius, Richard. Thomas More: A Biography (1984)
Pineas, Rainer. Thomas More and Tudor Polemics (1968)
Reynolds E. E. Sir Thomas More (1965)
Reynolds E. E. Thomas More and Erasmus. (1965)
Reynolds E. E. The Field Is Won: The Life and Death of Saint Thomas More. (1968)
Wegemer, Gerard B. Thomas More : A Portrait of Courage. (1995)
Wegemer, Gerard B. Thomas More on Statesmanship. (1996)
Article Citation:
Jokinen, Anniina. "The Life of Sir Thomas More." Luminarium.
6 July 2012. [Date you accessed this article].
<http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/morebio.htm>
SOURCE : https://www.luminarium.org/renlit/morebio.htm
San Tommaso Moro Martire
22 giugno - Memoria Facoltativa
Londra, 1478 - 6 luglio 1535
Tommaso Moro è il nome italiano con cui è ricordato Thomas More (7 febbraio 1478 - 6 luglio 1535), avvocato, scrittore e uomo politico inglese. More ha coniato il termine «utopia», indicando un'immaginaria isola dotata di una società ideale, di cui descrisse il sistema politico nella sua opera più famosa, «L'Utopia», del 1516. È ricordato soprattutto per il suo rifiuto alla rivendicazione di Enrico VIII di farsi capo supremo della Chiesa d'Inghilterra, una decisione che mise fine alla sua carriera politica conducendolo alla pena capitale con l'accusa di tradimento. Nel 1935, è proclamato santo da Papa Pio XI; dal 1980 è commemorato anche nel calendario dei santi della chiesa anglicana (il 6 luglio), assieme all'amico John Fisher, vescovo di Rochester, decapitato quindici giorni prima di Moro. Nel 2000 San Tommaso Moro venne dichiarato patrono degli statisti e dei politici da Papa Giovanni Paolo II. (Avvenire)
Patronato: Avvocati
Etimologia: Tommaso = gemello, dall'ebraico
Emblema: Palma
Martirologio Romano: Santi Giovanni Fisher, vescovo, e Tommaso More, martiri, che, essendosi opposti al re Enrico VIII nella controversia sul suo divorzio e sul primato del Romano Pontefice, furono rinchiusi nella Torre di Londra in Inghilterra. Giovanni Fisher, vescovo di Rochester, uomo insigne per cultura e dignità di vita, in questo giorno fu decapitato per ordine del re stesso davanti al carcere; Tommaso More, padre di famiglia di vita integerrima e gran cancelliere, per la sua fedeltà alla Chiesa cattolica il 6 luglio si unì nel martirio al venerabile presule.
(6 luglio: A Londra in Inghilterra, passione di san Tommaso More, la cui memoria si celebra il 22 giugno insieme a quella di san Giovanni Fisher).
Dicono che tutti gli uccelli di Chelsea (all’epoca sobborgo rurale di Londra) scendano a sfamarsi nel suo tranquillo giardino. Un indice della sua fama di uomo sereno e accogliente. Thomas More (questo il nome inglese), figlio di magistrato, è via via avvocato famoso, amministratore di giustizia nella City, membro del Parlamento. Dalla moglie Jane Colt ha avuto tre figlie e un figlio; alla sua morte, si risposa con Alice Middleton.
Ha imparato a Oxford l’amore per i classici antichi e lo condivide con Erasmo da Rotterdam, spesso ospite in casa sua. Scrive la vita dell’umanista italiano Giovanni Pico della Mirandola; ma sarà più famoso il suo dialogo Utopia, col disegno di una società ideale, governata dalla giustizia e dalla libertà. E’ un umanista che porta il cilicio, che studia i Padri della Chiesa e vive la fede con fermezza e gioia. Quando Lutero inizia la sua lotta contro Roma, il re Enrico VIII d’Inghilterra scrive un trattato in difesa della dottrina cattolica sui sacramenti, ricevendo lodi da papa Leone X e accuse da Lutero. A queste risponde Tommaso Moro, che Enrico stima per la cultura e l’integrità. Spesso lo consulta, gli affida missioni importanti all’estero. E nel 1529 lo nomina Lord Cancelliere, al vertice dell’ordinamento giudiziario. Un posto altissimo, ma pericoloso.
Siamo infatti alla famosa crisi: Enrico ripudia Caterina d’Aragona (moglie e poi vedova di suo fratello Arturo), sposa Anna Bolena, e giunge poi a staccare da Roma la Chiesa inglese, di cui si proclama unico capo. Per Tommaso Moro, la fedeltà esige la sincerità assoluta col re: anche a costo di irritarlo, pur di non mentirgli. E così si comporta. La fede gli vieta di accettare quel divorzio e la supremazia del re nelle cose di fede. Lo pensa, lo dice, perde il posto e si lascia condannare a morte senza piegarsi.
Incoraggia i familiari che lo visitano nella prigione della Torre di Londra e scrive cose bellissime in latino a un amico italiano che vive a Londra, il mercante lucchese Antonio Bonvisi: "Amico mio, più di ogni altro fedelissimo e dilettissimo... Cristo conservi sana la tua famiglia". Bonvisi gli manda in prigione cibi, vini e un abito nuovo per il giorno dell’esecuzione (ma non glielo lasceranno indossare). Davanti al patibolo, è cordiale anche col boia che dovrà decapitarlo: "Su, amico, fatti animo; ma guarda che ho il collo piuttosto corto", e gli regala una moneta d’oro. Poi, venuto il momento, dice alcune parole. "Poche", gli hanno raccomandato: e poche sono. Tommaso Moro invita a pregare per Enrico VIII, "e dichiarò che moriva da suddito fedele al re, ma innanzitutto a Dio".
Quindici giorni prima, per le stesse ragioni, è stato decapitato il suo amico John Fisher, vescovo di Rochester, che sarà canonizzato insieme a lui da Pio XI nel 1931. Ora la Chiesa li ricorda entrambi nello stesso giorno.
Autore: Domenico Agasso
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Thomas More Chambers, 51-52 Carey Street, London
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Thomas
More Chambers, 51-52 Carey Street, London
Grande era la sua fama di
uomo integerrimo e gioviale, giudice giusto, colto e stimato dagli umanisti europei, tanto
che Erasmo da Rotterdam gli dedicò il suo “Elogio della follia”; amato dal
popolo per la sua carità, conosciuto per il suo senso dell’umorismo e il suo fine
intelletto, come traspare dalle sue opere e dalla sua vita. Ma Tommaso Moro fu,
prima e soprattutto, un uomo di fede. Figlio di un avvocato, nasce a Londra nel
1478. La sua vita privata passa per la vicinanza ai francescani di Greenwich e
per un periodo presso la Certosa di Londra, poi per il matrimonio con Jane Colt
dalla quale ha 4 figli e quindi, rimasto vedovo, per un nuovo matrimonio con
Alice Middleton. Marito e padre, si impegna nell’educazione intellettuale e
religiosa dei figli, nella sua casa sempre aperta agli amici.
Un astro in ascesa
La sua vita pubblica lo vede lavorare come membro del Parlamento e ricoprire
diversi incarichi diplomatici. Scrive nel 1516 la sua opera più nota,
“L’Utopia”. E ancora, è giudice, presidente della Camera dei Comuni. Come
consigliere e segretario del re, è impegnato contro la Riforma protestante.
Contribuisce alla stesura de “La difesa dei sette sacramenti”, opera che valse
ad Enrico VIII il titolo di Defensor fidei. Un’ascesa inarrestabile, fino al
culmine: è il primo laico ad essere nominato Gran Cancelliere. Siamo nel 1529.
Solo pochi anni dopo, nel 1532, la sua vita cambierà decisamente. Tommaso darà
le dimissioni e per la sua famiglia si apriranno le porte di una vita di
povertà e abbandono.
Muoio fedele servo del re ma prima servo di Dio
La sua vicenda si intreccia con la stessa vita del re Enrico VIII che, deciso a
sposare Anna Bolena, fa dichiarare nullo dall’arcivescovo Thomas Cranmer il suo
matrimonio con Caterina d’Aragona, giungendo, in un’escalation di opposizione a
Papa Clemente VII, ad assumere la guida della Chiesa d’Inghilterra. Nel 1534
l’Atto di Supremazia e l’Atto di Successione sanciscono la svolta. Tommaso si
era già ritirato dal mondo politico: non poteva approvare e, soprattutto, non
vuole rinnegare la fedeltà al Papa. Nel 1534 viene quindi imprigionato nella
Torre di Londra ma questo non basta a piegarlo. La sua “linea”, che continua ad
essere quella del silenzio, non è però sufficiente a salvargli la vita. Subisce
un processo, nel corso del quale pronuncia una famosa apologia
sull’indissolubilità del matrimonio, il rispetto del patrimonio giuridico
ispirato ai valori cristiani, la libertà della Chiesa di fronte allo Stato.
Viene condannato per alto tradimento e decapitato il 6 luglio, pochi giorni
dopo Giovanni Fisher, di cui era grande amico, condannato per le stesse idee e
assieme a lui ricordato dalla Chiesa il 22 giugno. Un uomo appassionato della
verità, Tommaso Moro, ammirato per “l’integrità - ricorda Benedetto XVI nel
discorso a Westminster Hall - con cui fu capace di seguire la propria
coscienza, anche a costo di dispiacere al sovrano, di cui pure era ‘buon
servitore’, poiché però aveva scelto di servire Dio per primo”.
(Vatican News)
«La considerazione della vita dei santi – con le loro lotte ed il loro eroismo – ha prodotto in ogni tempo abbon- danti frutti nelle anime dei cristiani. Ancor oggi... i credenti hanno un bisogno particolare dell'esempio di tali vite eroicamente consacrate all'amore di Dio e, per Dio, agli altri uomini» (Documento della Congregazione per il Clero sul Prete, 19 marzo 1999). L'esempio dei martiri è particolarmente illuminante, come ricordava papa Pio XI in occasione della canonizzazione di san Tommaso Moro: «Se non tutti siamo chiamati a versare il nostro sangue per la difesa delle leggi divine, tutti dobbiamo, tuttavia, attraverso l'esercizio dell'abnegazione evangelica, la mortificazione cristiana dei sensi e la ricerca laboriosa della virtù «avere il desiderio di essere martiri, per poter partecipare con essi alla celeste ricompensa», secondo le espressive parole di san Basilio» (19 maggio 1935).
Tommaso Moro nasce a Londra, il 6 febbraio 1477. Riceve dai suoi genitori un'educazione severa ed attenta, cui corrisponde docilmente, dimostrandosi ubbidiente e gentile. Viene iscritto molto presto alla scuola Sant'Antonio di Londra. Appena adolescente, è accolto, su richiesta di suo padre, nella casa del Cardinale Morton, arcivescovo di Canterbury e Cancelliere del Regno d'Inghilterra (primo dignitario dello Stato, dopo il Re). Incanta il prelato ed i suoi ospiti, in occasione delle sedute ricreative, grazie ad un dono d'improvvisazione che denota un grande senso dell'osservazione.
A 14 anni, Tommaso va a continuare gli studi ad Oxford. Grazie all'insegnamento di eminenti professori, compie rapidi progressi, in particolare nella conoscenza delle lingue latina e greca, il che gli permetterà di leggere le opere dei Padri della Chiesa nel testo originale. Si applica anche allo studio del francese, della storia, della geometria, della matematica e della musica. In capo a due anni, suo padre, che è avvocato, lo fa tornare a Londra per studiarvi legge. Nel 1501, Tommaso entra lui pure a far parte del foro. Per quattro anni, alloggia presso i Certosini di Londra, conducendo una vita mezzo religiosa, mezzo laica, condividendo abitualmente gli esercizi dei monaci, ed iniziandosi alla spiritualità. Gliene rimarrà per tutta la vita un grande zelo per la preghiera e la penitenza. Nella sua professione di avvocato, insensibile a qualsiasi idea di cupidigia, armonizza i diritti della giustizia più rigorosa con quelli della più affabile carità. Nel 1504, a 27 anni, viene eletto deputato al Parlamento.
Nello stesso anno 1504, sposa Joanna Colt, giovane di costumi dolci e semplici.
Dalla loro unione nascono tre figlie: Margherita, Cecilia, Elisabetta, ed un
maschio: Giovanni. Tommaso conduce una vita semplice. È affabile e si diverte a
stuzzicare la gente senza ferirla. Nell'anno del suo matrimonio, ospita Erasmo
da Rotterdam, Monaco agostiniano e forse lo scienziato più universale della sua
epoca. I due uomini hanno in comune lo stesso ideale di umanesimo cristiano.
Un marito premuroso
Nel 1511, Tommaso piange la perdita della moglie. Ben presto, risente il bisogno di dare un'altra madre ai suoi figli e sposa Alice Middleton, vedova di un commerciante londinese e madre di una bimba di dieci anni. Alice, di sette anni maggiore di Tommaso, è una buona padrona di casa ed una madre di famiglia sollecita. Stando a quel che dice Erasmo, suo marito «le manifesta tutte quelle attenzioni e tutta quella gentilezza che riserverebbe ad una moglie giovanissima e di una bellezza straordinaria. La dirige con carezze e parole gentili... Che cosa gli rifiuterebbe essa? Si pensi che la donna, già matura, si è messa, senza alcun gusto innato e con la massima assiduità, ad imparare a suonare la cetra, l'arpa, il monocordo e il flauto, facendo tutti i giorni gli esercizi che le indicava il marito». Verso il 1524, i Moro si stabiliscono a Chelsea, vicino a Londra, in una vasta e bella casa provvista di una cappella privata e di una biblioteca. Non mancano mai di pregare in famiglia, almeno la sera. Durante i pasti, viene letto un passo della Bibbia. Tommaso ne spiega il senso celato, poi propone qualche soggetto di conversazione meno severo, e tutti si divertono piacevolmente.
Tommaso guida i propri figli nello studio delle lettere e delle scienze. Ma che beneficio trarrebbero dalla conoscenza del latino e del greco, se tale sapere finisse col riempirli d'orgoglio? Chiede pertanto ai loro insegnanti di guidarli verso l'umiltà; saranno così «avidi di acquisire i tesori della scienza solo per metterli al servizio della difesa della verità e della gloria dell'Onnipotente». Tommaso è pronto a tutto per questo: «Piuttosto che ammettere che i miei figli si lascino andare all'ozio, scrive alla figlia Margherita, non esiterei, anche se il mio benessere dovesse risentirsene, a lasciare la corte ed i pubblici affari, per occuparmi esclusivamente di tutti voi, di te soprattutto, mia cara Margherita, cui voglio tanto bene». Infatti, Tommaso predilige particolarmente Margherita. Ha sempre con sè le lettere, accuratamente scritte in latino, che essa gli manda. La sua tenerezza per tutti i suoi si manifesta anche attraverso i regali che porta loro dai suoi viaggi: dolci, frutta, belle stoffe...
L'accoglienza cordiale dei Moro fa soprannominare la loro casa il «domicilio
delle Muse», quello di «tutte le virtù» e di «tutte le forme della carità». La
carità di Tommaso è senza limiti, come testimoniano le di lui frequenti e
generose elemosine. Ha l'abitudine di percorrere, la sera, i luoghi più
isolati, per andare incontro ai poveri che si vergognano della loro miseria e
soccorrerli. Riceve spesso a tavola, allegramente e familiarmente, i contadini
del vicinato. Fonda un ospizio in cui la figlia adottiva, Margherita Giggs,
assume il compito di infermiera. La sua fede nella Provvidenza è profonda.
Venuto un giorno a conoscenza dell'incendio dei suoi fienili, dà tre consegne
alla moglie: «Riunire tutta la famiglia per ringraziare Dio; vegliare a che
nessuno dei vicini abbia a soffrire del sinistro; non licenziare nessun
domestico prima di avergli trovato un nuovo datore di lavoro».
Perchè tanti ceri?
Ma Tommaso si distingue soprattutto per la sua permanente intimità con Cristo. A un tale che lo prende in giro per le sue devozioni popolane, dicendo: «Vuol dire che Dio ed i suoi santi non ci vedono, poichè bisogna circondarli sempre di ceri!», risponde: «Cristo non ha forse detto che Maria Maddalena sarebbe stata onorata perchè aveva versato profumo sul suo corpo? Ci si potrebbe domandare allo stesso modo: «Che bene può fare alla testa di Cristo l'olio profumato?» Quel che ci insegnano l'esempio di quella santa donna e le parole del nostro Salvatore è che Dio si compiace di osservare il fervore della devozione del cuore ribollire e spandersi all'esterno; gli piace che lo si serva con tutti i beni che ha concesso all'uomo». Dalla contemplazione di Nostro Signore, Tommaso si eleva all'identificazione con Esso, e mette in risalto l'influenza di Cristo su tutto il genere umano. La presenza dell'Uomo-Dio nel mondo è la base dell'ottimismo fondamentale di Tommaso, del suo amore per la natura, della sua comprensione della debolezza umana, del suo dinamismo apostolico, della sua fiducia incrollabile nel cristianesimo, ed anche del suo senso dell'umorismo. Da nessuna parte, in questo mondo, vede un male definitivo, e si sforza di cogliere il lato positivo di tutti gli eventi.
Grazie alle sue virtù, al suo sapere, ed alle opere in cui difende la fede e la
religione contro i novatori protestanti, Tommaso si conquista la stima di
tutti, ed in particolare quella del Re Enrico VIII. Si ha così ricorso ai suoi
servizi per i pubblici affari. Nel 1515, fa parte di un'ambasciata inviata
nelle Fiandre, ed occupa il tempo libero a comporre l'«Utopia». Due anni più
tardi, è in Francia, per un'altra missione ufficiale. Nel 1518, diventa membro
del Consiglio privato del Re, poi, nel 1525, Cancelliere del Ducato di
Lancaster, e infine, nell'ottobre del 1529, viene nominato, con piena soddisfazione
di tutto il Regno, Gran Cancelliere d'Inghilterra. Più si trova innalzato dalla
dignità, l'autorità o l'onore, e più appare superiore a tutti per la sua
modestia, la probità del suo carattere, la pazienza, i sentimenti sempre umani
che gli fanno prendere la vita dal lato buono, come testimonia il seguente
aneddoto. Essendo evaso un detenuto, dopo aver forzato le porte della prigione,
il Cancelliere fa comparire davanti a sè il carceriere, più morto che vivo. Gli
ordina severamente di vegliare a che i danni siano prontamente e solidamente
riparati, «affinchè, aggiunge con un tono più mite, se il fuggitivo avesse
voglia di tornare, gli sia questa volta impossibile forzare le porte della
prigione per rientrarvi!»
Tedio pericoloso
Il Re Enrico VIII si comporta da marito fedele durante i primi dieci anni di regno. Ma poi, stanco della moglie, Caterina d'Aragona, che gli ha dato una sola figlia ancora in vita, Maria Tudor, cerca un'altra donna. Nel 1522, arriva alla corte d'Inghilterra una giovane di 15 anni, di nome Anna Bolena. Benchè senza fascino, suscita nel Re una violenta passione. Abilmente, essa si applica ad attizzare la bramosia di Enrico, pur rifiutando di cedere ai suoi desideri finchè non l'avrà sposata. Alle sue spalle, si trova un partito costituito dalla sua famiglia e da nobili animati da interessi diversi.
Enrico VIII aveva sposato Caterina d'Aragona, vedova del suo fratello maggiore,
grazie ad una dispensa legittimamente accordata da Papa Giulio II. Cercando il
modo di ripudiarla, Enrico VIII s'interroga sulla validità del proprio
matrimonio e crede di poter fondare il suo dubbio su un testo della Bibbia
(Lev. 18, 16). Interrogato su questo punto dal Re, Tommaso si scusa, allegando
la propria incapacità di statuire in una materia che interessa il diritto
canonico. Il Re gli ordina allora di esaminare la questione con parecchi
teologi; dopo averlo fatto, Tommaso risponde: «Sire, nessuno dei teologi che ho
consultato può darvi un consiglio indipendente. Ma conosco consiglieri che
parleranno senza timore a Sua Maestà: sono san Girolamo, sant'Agostino e altri
Padri della Chiesa. Ecco la conclusione che ho tratto dai loro scritti: «Non è
permesso ad un cristiano sposare un'altra donna, mentre la prima è ancora in
vita»». Il che significava affermare che il matrimonio con Caterina era valido.
La questione è proposta a Roma. Il Papa aspetterà il 1534 per dichiarare valido
il matrimonio di Enrico e Caterina. Ma Moro non è più al governo: fin dal 16
maggio 1532, ha dato le dimissioni dalle funzioni di Cancelliere, per non
essere costretto ad agire contrariamente alle leggi di Dio e della Chiesa, che
i vescovi del Regno (tranne John Fisher) hanno sacrificato al potere regale.
Fedeltà o alto tradimento?
All'inizio del 1533, Enrico sposa segretamente Anna Bolena, che viene incoronata il 1° giugno. Per sancire con maggiore solennità il proprio divorzio, Enrico desidera che la principessa Maria Tudor sia diseredata di tutti i suoi diritti; in compenso, Elisabetta, che Anna ha appena partorito, sarà proclamata unica e legittima erede della corona d'Inghilterra. Il Parlamento si sottomette al Re e vota, il 30 marzo 1534, un «Atto di Successione» in tal senso. Tutti i sudditi del Regno devono impegnarsi sotto giuramento ad osservare la nuova legge nella sua totalità. Il giuramento è preceduto da un preliminare in cui l'autorità del Sovrano Pontefice è formalmente respinta. Vescovi, canonici, parroci, monaci, professori di istituti, personale ospedaliero e quello delle fondazioni caritative si sottomettono e riconoscono il Re quale unico capo spirituale, consacrando in tal modo la separazione da Roma. John Fisher, vescovo di Rochester e Tommaso Moro, come pure alcuni sacerdoti e monaci, rifiutano il giuramento: pagheranno il loro rifiuto con la vita.
Tommaso narrerà la sua comparizione per la prestazione del giuramento in una
lettera alla figlia: «Quando arrivai a Lambeth, dove era riunita la commissione
reale... chiesi che mi venisse comunicato il testo del giuramento che si
esigeva... Dopo averlo letto attentamente e studiato a lungo... dichiarai, in
perfetta sincerità di coscienza, che, senza tuttavia rifiutare il giuramento
relativamente alla successione, non potevo accettare di prestare il giuramento
nei termini in cui era formulato, a meno che volessi esporre la mia anima alla
dannazione eterna. Quando ebbi finito di parlare, il gran Cancelliere del regno
prese la parola e mi dichiarò che tutti i presenti erano vivamente afflitti di
sentirmi esprimermi così; che ero il primo fra tutti i sudditi di Sua Maestà a
rifiutare di prestare il giuramento che questi esigeva... Mi si presentò un
voluminoso elenco di persone consenzienti... ma dichiarai nuovamente che la mia
risoluzione, lungi dall'esser cambiata, era irremovibile».
La responsabilità della mia anima
Per Tommaso, la fedeltà alla testimonianza della coscienza è necessaria per la
salvezza eterna. «Certi credono che, se parlano in un modo e pensano in un
altro, Dio presterà maggior attenzione al loro cuore che alle loro labbra,
scrive alla figlia Margherita. Quanto a me, non posso agire come loro in una
materia tanto importante: non rifiuterei di giurare, se la mia coscienza mi
dettasse di farlo, anche se gli altri rifiutassero; e, del pari, non presterei
giuramento contro la mia coscienza, anche se tutti vi sottoscrivessero». Il
carattere inalienabile della coscienza non significa che le sue ingiunzioni
s'impongano ciecamente, spiega altresì Tommaso. Ciascuno deve formare la
propria coscienza attraverso lo studio ed il consiglio di persone sagge, poichè
la coscienza deve essere uniformata alla verità obiettiva (ved. Enciclica
Veritatis splendor del 6 agosto 1993). Prima di giungere ad una conclusione che
s'impone alla sua coscienza, Tommaso si è imposta una somma di studio
considerevole. Riconosce, tuttavia, che l'autorità della Chiesa prevale sulle
proprie conclusioni. Ma le autorità umane non hanno più nessun potere su una
coscienza retta e sicura: «Solo io porto la responsabilità della mia anima»,
afferma. Pertanto, contro le false accuse di cui è vittima, i falsi testimoni,
contro le prevaricazioni del Re, contro la depravazione del senso morale che fa
chiamare «bianco quel che è nero e male quel che è bene», la sua coscienza
resiste fino alla morte.
Rinunce dolorose
L'atteggiamento di Tommaso Moro è una luce per la nostra epoca. Papa Giovanni Paolo II afferma che leggi come quelle che pretendono di rendere legittimo l'aborto o l'eutanasia, «non solo non creano alcun obbligo per la coscienza, ma portano con sè un obbligo grave e preciso di opporvisi attraverso l'obiezione di coscienza. Fin dalle origini della Chiesa, la predicazione apostolica ha insegnato ai cristiani il dovere di ubbidire ai pubblici poteri costituiti legittimamente (ved. Rom. 13, 1-7; 1 P. 2, 13-14), ma ha dato in pari tempo il fermo avvertimento che bisogna obbedire a Dio piuttosto che agli uomini (Atti 5, 29)... L'introduzione di legislazioni ingiuste pone spesso gli uomini moralmente retti di fronte a difficili problemi di coscienza... Le scelte che si impongono sono talvolta dolorose e possono richiedere il sacrificio di situazioni professionali confermate o la rinuncia a prospettive legittime di avanzamento nella carriera... I cristiani, come tutti gli uomini di buona volontà, sono chiamati, in virtù di un grave dovere di coscienza, a non dare la loro collaborazione formale alle pratiche che, benchè ammesse dalla legislazione civile, si oppongono alla Legge di Dio... Per gli atti che ciascuno compie personalmente, esiste, infatti, una responsabilità morale cui nessuno si può mai sottrarre e su cui ciascuno sarà giudicato da Dio stesso» (Enciclica Evangelium vitæ, 25 marzo 1995, nn. 73-74).
Il 17 aprile 1534, Tommaso viene incarcerato nella Torre di Londra. Utilizza il
tempo della detenzione a prepararsi alla morte, componendo notevoli opere di
devozione. Già in un'opera incompiuta del 1522, I quattro ultimi fini, aveva
messo in risalto il beneficio del pensiero della morte: se fosse in vendita un
rimedio per tutti i mali, spiega, gli uomini farebbero l'impossibile per
procurarselo. Ora, il rimedio esiste e si chiama «il pensiero della morte». Ma,
ahimè, ben pochi hanno ricorso ad esso. Soltanto la meditazione dei fini ultimi
può rettificare il loro giudizio.
Sovvertimento dei valori
Tale meditazione presuppone la fede. La fede, spiega Tommaso, sovverte il senso dei valori comunemente ammessi dagli uomini; essa ci dice che tutta la Santissima Trinità risiede nell'anima in stato di grazia, anche al momento della prova; che i nostri nemici sono gli amici che ci sono maggiormente vicini; che la riconoscenza deve rivolgersi meno al visitatore da parte del carcerato che all'infelice da parte del benefattore. Al di sopra di tutto, la fede scopre il valore soprannaturale della sofferenza. Insegna a far diventare medicina la malattia medesima. Per Tommaso, tutte le nostre tribolazioni hanno quale ragione principale quella di suscitare in noi il desiderio di essere consolati da Dio. Tuttavia, esse ci aiutano anche a purificarci dalle nostre colpe passate, ci preservano da quelle future, diminuiscono le pene del purgatorio ed accrescono la ricompensa finale del Cielo. «Chiunque medita tali verità e le conserva nel suo spirito... valuterà con pazienza il prezzo della prova, troverà che tale prezzo è elevato e, ben presto, si stimerà privilegiato, ... la sua gioia diminuirà ampiamente la sua pena e gli impedirà di ricercare altrove vane consolazioni» (Dialogo fra Conforto e Tribolazione). Simili parole, scritte nel cuore stesso della prova, non sono un vano linguaggio. La gioia soprannaturale che Dio dà a Tommaso in prigione gli procura la serenità e sviluppa il suo senso innato dell'umorismo. Un giorno in cui il governatore della Torre si scusa gentilmente per la frugalità del pasto, l'ex Cancelliere risponde: «Se qualcuno di noi non è soddisfatto del vitto, non ha che da andare a cercarsi altrove un altro alloggio!»
Il 1° luglio 1535, Tommaso è condannato a morte per alto tradimento. I giudici
gli chiedono se desidera aggiungere qualcosa. «Ho poco da dire, tranne questo:
il beato Apostolo Paolo era presente e consenziente al martirio di santo
Stefano. Ora, sono entrambi santi in Cielo. Benchè abbiate contribuito alla mia
condanna, pregherò fervidamente perchè voi ed io ci ritroviamo insieme in
Cielo. Allo stesso modo, desidero che Dio Onnipotente preservi e difenda Sua
Maestà il Re e gli mandi un buon consiglio». Un ultimo assalto viene a mettere
alla prova la costanza del carcerato. Sua moglie lo va a trovare e gli dice:
«Vuoi abbandonarci, me e la mia infelice famiglia? Vuoi rinunciare a quella
vita nel nido domestico, che, ancora poco fa, ti piaceva tanto? – Per quanti
anni, mia cara Alice, credi che possa ancora godere quaggiù di quei piaceri
terreni che mi dipingi con un'eloquenza tanto persuasiva? – Vent'anni, almeno,
se Dio vuole. – Ma, carissima moglie, non sei una buona negoziante: che è mai
una ventina d'anni a confronto di un'eternità beata?»
«Essa non ha tradito!»
Il 6 luglio, viene condotto sul luogo del supplizio. La scala che porta al
patibolo è in pessimo stato e Tommaso ha bisogno del sostegno del tenente per
salire: «La prego, dice, mi aiuti a salire. Per discendere, me la sbroglierò da
solo!» Avendogli il Re chiesto di esser sobrio nella parola all'ultimo momento,
dice molto semplicemente: «Muoio da buon suddito del Re, ma prima di tutto di Dio!»
Mentre si inginocchia sul patibolo, le sue labbra pregano: «Dio mio, abbi pietà
di me!» Abbraccia il boia e gli dice: «Ho il collo molto corto; attento a non
colpirmi di traverso. È in gioco il tuo onore!» Si benda gli occhi da sè. Il
boia ha già l'ascia in mano: «Un momento, gli dice Tommaso mettendosi a posto
la barba; essa non ha tradito!» Il capo cade al primo colpo. Tommaso è in Cielo
per sempre.
PREGHIERA del buonumore
Signore, donami una buona digestione e anche qualcosa da digerire.
Donami la salute del corpo e il buon umore necessario per mantenerla.
Donami, Signore, un’anima semplice che sappia far tesoro di tutto ciò che è buono
e non si spaventi alla vista del male ma piuttosto trovi sempre il modo di rimetter le cose a posto.
Dammi un’anima che non conosca la noia, i brontolamenti, i sospiri, i lamenti,
e non permettere che mi crucci eccessivamente per quella cosa troppo ingombrante che si chiama “io”.
Dammi, Signore, il senso del buon umore.
Concedimi la grazia di comprendere uno scherzo per scoprire nella vita un po’ di gioia
e farne parte anche agli altri.
Amen.
Autore: Dom Antoine Marie osb
Fonte : Lettera
mensile dell'abbazia Saint-Joseph, Flavigny - Francia
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/27900
_Bustes_van_filosofen_en_koningen_(serietitel)%2C_RP-P-1909-1146.jpg)
Portret van Thomas More. Thomas Morus (titel op object). Bustes van filosofen
en koningen (serietitel). prentmaker: Jerôme David (toegeschreven aan), naar
ontwerp van: Monogrammist RH (inventor) (vermeld op object), uitgever: François
Langlois (vermeld op object), verlener van privilege: Franse kroon (vermeld op
object)
1. Dalla vita e dal
martirio di san Tommaso Moro scaturisce un messaggio che attraversa i secoli e
parla agli uomini di tutti i tempi della dignità inalienabile della coscienza,
nella quale, come ricorda il Concilio Vaticano II, risiede "il nucleo più
segreto e il sacrario dell'uomo, dove egli si trova solo con Dio, la cui voce
risuona nella sua intimità" (Gaudium
et spes, 16). Quando l'uomo e la donna ascoltano il richiamo della verità,
allora la coscienza orienta con sicurezza i loro atti verso il bene. Proprio
per la testimonianza, resa fino all'effusione del sangue, del primato della
verità sul potere, san Tommaso Moro è venerato quale esempio imperituro di
coerenza morale. E anche al di fuori della Chiesa, specie fra coloro che sono
chiamati a guidare le sorti dei popoli, la sua figura viene riconosciuta quale
fonte di ispirazione per una politica che si ponga come fine supremo il
servizio alla persona umana.
Di recente, alcuni Capi
di Stato e di Governo, numerosi esponenti politici, alcune Conferenze
Episcopali e singoli Vescovi mi hanno rivolto petizioni a favore della
proclamazione di san Tommaso Moro quale Patrono dei Governanti e dei Politici.
Tra i firmatari dell'istanza vi sono personalità di varia provenienza politica,
culturale e religiosa, a testimonianza del vivo e diffuso interesse per il
pensiero ed il comportamento di questo insigne Uomo di governo.
2. Tommaso Moro visse una
straordinaria carriera politica nel suo Paese. Nato a Londra nel 1478 da
rispettabile famiglia, fu posto, sin da giovane al servizio dell'Arcivescovo di
Canterbury Giovanni Morton, Cancelliere del Regno. Proseguì poi gli studi in
legge ad Oxford e a Londra, allargando i suoi interessi ad ampi settori della
cultura, della teologia e della letteratura classica. Imparò a fondo il greco
ed entrò in rapporto di scambio e di amicizia con importanti protagonisti della
cultura rinascimentale, tra cui Erasmo Desiderio da Rotterdam.
La sua sensibilità
religiosa lo portò alla ricerca della virtù attraverso un’assidua pratica
ascetica: coltivò rapporti di amicizia con i frati minori osservanti del
convento di Greenwich e alloggiò per un certo tempo presso la certosa di
Londra, due dei principali centri di fervore religioso nel Regno. Sentendosi
chiamato al matrimonio, alla vita familiare e all'impegno laicale, egli sposò
nel 1505 Giovanna Colt dalla quale ebbe quattro figli. Giovanna morì nel 1511 e
Tommaso sposò in seconde nozze Alicia Middleton, una vedova con figlia. Fu per
tutta la sua vita marito e padre affezionato e fedele, intimamente impegnato
nell'educazione religiosa, morale e intellettuale dei figli. La sua casa
accoglieva generi, nuore e nipoti, e rimaneva aperta per molti giovani amici
alla ricerca della verità o della propria vocazione. La vita di famiglia
lasciava, per altro, ampio spazio alla preghiera comune e alla lectio divina,
come pure a sane forme di ricreazione domestica. Tommaso partecipava alla Messa
quotidianamente nella chiesa parrocchiale, ma le austere penitenze che adottava
erano conosciute solo dai suoi familiari più intimi.
3. Nel 1504, sotto il re
Enrico VII, venne eletto per la prima volta al parlamento. Enrico VIII gli rinnovò
il mandato nel 1510, e lo costituì pure rappresentante della Corona nella
capitale, aprendogli una carriera di spicco nell'amministrazione pubblica. Nel
decennio successivo, il re lo inviò a varie riprese in missioni diplomatiche e
commerciali nelle Fiandre e nel territorio dell'odierna Francia. Fatto membro
del Consiglio della Corona, giudice presidente di un tribunale importante,
vice-tesoriere e cavaliere, divenne nel 1523 portavoce, cioè presidente, della
Camera dei Comuni.
Universalmente stimato
per l'indefettibile integrità morale, l'acutezza dell'ingegno, il carattere
aperto e scherzoso, la straordinaria erudizione, nel 1529, in un momento di
crisi politica ed economica del Paese, fu nominato dal re Cancelliere del
regno. Primo laico a ricoprire questa carica, Tommaso affrontò un periodo
estremamente difficile, sforzandosi di servire il re e il Paese. Fedele ai suoi
principi si impegnò a promuovere la giustizia e ad arginare l'influsso
deleterio di chi perseguiva i propri interessi a spese dei deboli. Nel 1532,
non volendo dare il proprio appoggio al disegno di Enrico VIII che voleva
assumere il controllo sulla Chiesa in Inghilterra, rassegnò le dimissioni. Si
ritirò dalla vita pubblica, accettando di soffrire con la sua famiglia la
povertà e l’abbandono di molti che, nella prova, si rivelarono falsi amici.
Costatata la sua
irremovibile fermezza nel rifiutare ogni compromesso con la propria coscienza,
il re, nel 1534, lo fece imprigionare nella Torre di Londra, ove fu sottoposto
a varie forme di pressione psicologica. Tommaso Moro non si lasciò piegare e
rifiutò di prestare il giuramento che gli si chiedeva, perché avrebbe
comportato l'accettazione di un assetto politico ed ecclesiastico che preparava
il terreno ad un dispotismo senza controllo. Nel corso del processo
intentatogli pronunciò un'appassionata apologia delle proprie convinzioni circa
l'indissolubilità del matrimonio, il rispetto del patrimonio giuridico ispirato
ai valori cristiani, la libertà della Chiesa di fronte allo Stato. Condannato
dal Tribunale, venne decapitato.
Col passare dei secoli si
attenuò la discriminazione nei confronti della Chiesa. Nel 1850 fu ricostituita
in Inghilterra la gerarchia cattolica. Fu così possibile avviare le cause di
canonizzazione di numerosi martiri. Tommaso Moro insieme a 53 altri martiri,
tra i quali il Vescovo Giovanni Fisher, fu beatificato dal Papa Leone XIII nel
1886. Insieme allo stesso Vescovo fu poi canonizzato da Pio XI nel 1935, nella
ricorrenza del quarto centenario del martirio.
4. Molte sono le ragioni
a favore della proclamazione di san Tommaso Moro a Patrono dei Governanti e dei
Politici. Tra queste, il bisogno che il mondo politico e amministrativo avverte
di modelli credibili, che mostrino la via della verità in un momento storico in
cui si moltiplicano ardue sfide e gravi responsabilità. Oggi, infatti, fenomeni
economici fortemente innovativi stanno modificando le strutture sociali;
d’altra parte, le conquiste scientifiche nel settore delle biotecnologie
acuiscono l’esigenza di difendere la vita umana in tutte le sue espressioni,
mentre le promesse di una nuova società, proposte con successo ad un’opinione
pubblica frastornata, richiedono con urgenza scelte politiche chiare a favore
della famiglia, dei giovani, degli anziani e degli emarginati.
In questo contesto, giova
riandare all'esempio di san Tommaso Moro, il quale si distinse per la costante
fedeltà all’autorità e alle istituzioni legittime proprio perché, in esse,
intendeva servire non il potere, ma l'ideale supremo della giustizia. La sua
vita ci insegna che il governo è anzitutto esercizio di virtù. Forte di tale
rigoroso impianto morale, lo Statista inglese pose la propria attività pubblica
al servizio della persona, specialmente se debole o povera; gestì le
controversie sociali con squisito senso d'equità; tutelò la famiglia e la
difese con strenuo impegno; promosse l'educazione integrale della gioventù. Il
profondo distacco dagli onori e dalle ricchezze, l'umiltà serena e gioviale,
l'equilibrata conoscenza della natura umana e della vanità del successo, la
sicurezza di giudizio radicata nella fede, gli dettero quella fiduciosa
fortezza interiore che lo sostenne nelle avversità e di fronte alla morte. La
sua santità rifulse nel martirio, ma fu preparata da un'intera vita di lavoro
nella dedizione a Dio e al prossimo.
Accennando a simili
esempi di perfetta armonia fra fede e opere, nell'Esortazione apostolica
post-sinodale Christifideles
laici ho scritto che "l'unità della vita dei fedeli laici è di
grandissima importanza: essi, infatti, devono santificarsi nell'ordinaria vita
professionale e sociale. Perché possano rispondere alla loro vocazione, dunque,
i fedeli laici debbono guardare alle attività della vita quotidiana come
occasione di unione con Dio e di compimento della sua volontà, e anche di
servizio agli altri uomini" (n. 17).
Quest'armonia fra il
naturale e il soprannaturale costituisce forse l'elemento che più di ogni altro
definisce la personalità del grande Statista inglese: egli visse la sua intensa
vita pubblica con umiltà semplice, contrassegnata dal celebre "buon
umore", anche nell'imminenza della morte.
Questo il traguardo a cui
lo portò la sua passione per la verità. L'uomo non si può separare da Dio, né
la politica dalla morale: ecco la luce che ne illuminò la coscienza. Come ho
già avuto occasione di dire, "l'uomo è creatura di Dio, e per questo i
diritti dell'uomo hanno in Dio la loro origine, riposano nel disegno della
creazione e rientrano nel piano della redenzione. Si potrebbe quasi dire, con
espressione audace, che i diritti dell'uomo sono anche i diritti di Dio" (Discorso,
7.4.1998).
E fu proprio nella difesa
dei diritti della coscienza che l'esempio di Tommaso Moro brillò di luce
intensa. Si può dire che egli visse in modo singolare il valore di una
coscienza morale che è "testimonianza di Dio stesso, la cui voce e il cui
giudizio penetrano l'intimo dell'uomo fino alle radici della sua anima"
(Lett. enc. Veritatis
splendor, 58), anche se, per quanto concerne l'azione contro gli eretici,
subì i limiti della cultura del suo tempo.
Il Concilio Ecumenico
Vaticano II, nella Costituzione Gaudium
et spes, nota come nel mondo contemporaneo stia crescendo "la
coscienza della esimia dignità che compete alla persona umana, superiore a
tutte le cose, e i cui diritti e doveri sono universali e inviolabili" (n.
26). La vicenda di san Tommaso Moro illustra con chiarezza una verità
fondamentale dell'etica politica. Infatti la difesa della libertà della Chiesa
da indebite ingerenze dello Stato è allo stesso tempo difesa, in nome del
primato della coscienza, della libertà della persona nei confronti del potere
politico. In ciò sta il principio basilare di ogni ordine civile conforme alla
natura dell'uomo.
5. Confido, pertanto, che
l'elevazione dell'esimia figura di san Tommaso Moro a Patrono dei Governanti e
dei Politici giovi al bene della società. È questa, peraltro, un'iniziativa in
piena sintonia con lo spirito del Grande Giubileo, che ci immette nel terzo
millennio cristiano.
Pertanto, dopo matura
considerazione, accogliendo volentieri le richieste rivoltemi, costituisco e
dichiaro celeste Patrono dei Governanti e dei Politici san Tommaso Moro,
concedendo che gli vengano tributati tutti gli onori e i privilegi liturgici
che competono, secondo il diritto, ai Patroni di categorie di persone.
Sia benedetto e
glorificato Gesù Cristo, Redentore dell'uomo, ieri, oggi e sempre.
Dato a Roma, presso san
Pietro, il giorno 31 ottobre dell’anno 2000, ventitreesimo di Pontificato.
GIOVANNI PAOLO II
© Copyright 2000 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
INCONTRO CON LE AUTORITÁ
CIVILI
DISCORSO DEL SANTO PADRE
BENEDETTO XVI*
Signor Presidente,
La ringrazio per le
parole di benvenuto che mi ha rivolto a nome di questa distinta assemblea. Nel
rivolgermi a voi, sono consapevole del privilegio che mi è concesso di parlare
al popolo britannico ed ai suoi rappresentanti nella Westminster Hall, un
edificio che ha un significato unico nella storia civile e politica degli
abitanti di queste Isole. Permettetemi di manifestare la mia stima per il
Parlamento, che da secoli ha sede in questo luogo e che ha avuto un’influenza
così profonda sullo sviluppo di forme di governo partecipative nel mondo,
specialmente nel Commonwealth e più in generale nei Paesi di lingua inglese. La
vostra tradizione di “common law” costituisce la base del sistema legale in
molte nazioni, e la vostra particolare visione dei rispettivi diritti e doveri
dello stato e del singolo cittadino, e della separazione dei poteri, rimane
come fonte di ispirazione per molti nel mondo.
Mentre parlo a voi in
questo luogo storico, penso agli innumerevoli uomini e donne che lungo i secoli
hanno svolto la loro parte in importanti eventi che hanno avuto luogo tra
queste mura e hanno segnato la vita di molte generazione di britannici e di
altri popoli. In particolare, vorrei ricordare la figura di San Tommaso Moro,
il grande studioso e statista inglese, ammirato da credenti e non credenti per
l’integrità con cui fu capace di seguire la propria coscienza, anche a costo di
dispiacere al sovrano, di cui era “buon servitore”, poiché aveva scelto di
servire Dio per primo. Il dilemma con cui Tommaso Moro si confrontava, in quei
tempi difficili, la perenne questione del rapporto tra ciò che è dovuto a
Cesare e ciò che è dovuto a Dio, mi offre l’opportunità di riflettere
brevemente con voi sul giusto posto che il credo religioso mantiene nel
processo politico.
La tradizione
parlamentare di questo Paese deve molto al senso istintivo di moderazione
presente nella Nazione, al desiderio di raggiungere un giusto equilibrio tra le
legittime esigenze del potere dello stato e i diritti di coloro che gli sono
soggetti. Se da un lato, nella vostra storia, sono stati compiuti a più riprese
dei passi decisivi per porre dei limiti all’esercizio del potere, dall’altro le
istituzioni politiche della nazione sono state in grado di evolvere all’interno
di un notevole grado di stabilità. In tale processo storico, la Gran Bretagna è
emersa come una democrazia pluralista, che attribuisce un grande valore alla
libertà di espressione, alla libertà di affiliazione politica e al rispetto
dello stato di diritto, con un forte senso dei diritti e doveri dei singoli, e
dell’uguaglianza di tutti i cittadini di fronte alla legge. La dottrina sociale
cattolica, pur formulata in un linguaggio diverso, ha molto in comune con un
tale approccio, se si considera la sua fondamentale preoccupazione per la
salvaguardia della dignità di ogni singola persona, creata ad immagine e
somiglianza di Dio, e la sua sottolineatura del dovere delle autorità civili di
promuovere il bene comune.
E, in verità, le
questioni di fondo che furono in gioco nel processo contro Tommaso Moro
continuano a presentarsi, in termini sempre nuovi, con il mutare delle
condizioni sociali. Ogni generazione, mentre cerca di promuovere il bene
comune, deve chiedersi sempre di nuovo: quali sono le esigenze che i governi
possono ragionevolmente imporre ai propri cittadini, e fin dove esse possono
estendersi? A quale autorità ci si può appellare per risolvere i dilemmi
morali? Queste questioni ci portano direttamente ai fondamenti etici del
discorso civile. Se i principi morali che sostengono il processo democratico
non si fondano, a loro volta, su nient’altro di più solido che sul consenso
sociale, allora la fragilità del processo si mostra in tutta la sua evidenza.
Qui si trova la reale sfida per la democrazia.
L’inadeguatezza di
soluzioni pragmatiche, di breve termine, ai complessi problemi sociali ed etici
è stata messa in tutta evidenza dalla recente crisi finanziaria globale. Vi è
un vasto consenso sul fatto che la mancanza di un solido fondamento etico
dell’attività economica abbia contribuito a creare la situazione di grave
difficoltà nella quale si trovano ora milioni di persone nel mondo. Così come
“ogni decisione economica ha una conseguenza di carattere morale” (Caritas
in Veritate, 37), analogamente, nel campo politico, la dimensione morale
delle politiche attuate ha conseguenze di vasto raggio, che nessun governo può
permettersi di ignorare. Una positiva esemplificazione di ciò si può trovare in
una delle conquiste particolarmente rimarchevoli del Parlamento britannico:
l’abolizione del commercio degli schiavi. La campagna che portò a questa
legislazione epocale, si basò su principi morali solidi, fondati sulla legge
naturale, e ha costituito un contributo alla civilizzazione di cui questa
nazione può essere giustamente orgogliosa.
La questione centrale in
gioco, dunque, è la seguente: dove può essere trovato il fondamento etico per
le scelte politiche? La tradizione cattolica sostiene che le norme obiettive
che governano il retto agire sono accessibili alla ragione, prescindendo dal
contenuto della rivelazione. Secondo questa comprensione, il ruolo della
religione nel dibattito politico non è tanto quello di fornire tali norme, come
se esse non potessero esser conosciute dai non credenti – ancora meno è quello
di proporre soluzioni politiche concrete, cosa che è del tutto al di fuori
della competenza della religione – bensì piuttosto di aiutare nel purificare e
gettare luce sull’applicazione della ragione nella scoperta dei principi morali
oggettivi. Questo ruolo “correttivo” della religione nei confronti della
ragione, tuttavia, non è sempre bene accolto, in parte poiché delle forme
distorte di religione, come il settarismo e il fondamentalismo, possono
mostrarsi esse stesse causa di seri problemi sociali. E, a loro volta, queste
distorsioni della religione emergono quando viene data una non sufficiente
attenzione al ruolo purificatore e strutturante della ragione all’interno della
religione. È un processo che funziona nel doppio senso. Senza il correttivo
fornito dalla religione, infatti, anche la ragione può cadere preda di
distorsioni, come avviene quando essa è manipolata dall’ideologia, o applicata
in un modo parziale, che non tiene conto pienamente della dignità della persona
umana. Fu questo uso distorto della ragione, in fin dei conti, che diede
origine al commercio degli schiavi e poi a molti altri mali sociali, non da ultimo
le ideologie totalitarie del ventesimo secolo. Per questo vorrei suggerire che
il mondo della ragione ed il mondo della fede – il mondo della secolarità
razionale e il mondo del credo religioso – hanno bisogno l’uno dell’altro e non
dovrebbero avere timore di entrare in un profondo e continuo dialogo, per il
bene della nostra civiltà.
La religione, in altre
parole, per i legislatori non è un problema da risolvere, ma un fattore che
contribuisce in modo vitale al dibattito pubblico nella nazione. In tale
contesto, non posso che esprimere la mia preoccupazione di fronte alla
crescente marginalizzazione della religione, in particolare del Cristianesimo,
che sta prendendo piede in alcuni ambienti, anche in nazioni che attribuiscono
alla tolleranza un grande valore. Vi sono alcuni che sostengono che la voce
della religione andrebbe messa a tacere, o tutt’al più relegata alla sfera
puramente privata. Vi sono alcuni che sostengono che la celebrazione pubblica
di festività come il Natale andrebbe scoraggiata, secondo la discutibile
convinzione che essa potrebbe in qualche modo offendere coloro che appartengono
ad altre religioni o a nessuna. E vi sono altri ancora che – paradossalmente
con lo scopo di eliminare le discriminazioni – ritengono che i cristiani che
rivestono cariche pubbliche dovrebbero, in determinati casi, agire contro la
propria coscienza. Questi sono segni preoccupanti dell’incapacità di tenere nel
giusto conto non solo i diritti dei credenti alla libertà di coscienza e di
religione, ma anche il ruolo legittimo della religione nella sfera pubblica.
Vorrei pertanto invitare tutti voi, ciascuno nelle rispettive sfere di
influenza, a cercare vie per promuovere ed incoraggiare il dialogo tra fede e
ragione ad ogni livello della vita nazionale.
La vostra disponibilità
in questo senso si è già manifestata nell’invito senza precedenti che mi avete
rivolto oggi, e trova espressione in quei settori di interesse nei quali il
vostro Governo si è impegnato insieme alla Santa Sede. Nel campo della pace, vi
sono stati degli scambi circa l’elaborazione di un trattato internazionale sul
commercio di armi; circa i diritti umani, la Santa Sede ed il Regno Unito hanno
visto positivamente il diffondersi della democrazia, specialmente negli ultimi
65 anni; nel campo dello sviluppo, vi è stata collaborazione nella remissione
del debito, nel commercio equo e nel finanziamento allo sviluppo, in
particolare attraverso la “International Finance Facility”, l’”International
Immunization Bond” e l’”Advanced Market Commitment”. La Santa Sede è inoltre
desiderosa di ricercare, con il Regno Unito, nuove strade per promuovere la
responsabilità ambientale, a beneficio di tutti.
Noto inoltre che
l’attuale Governo si è impegnato a devolvere entro il 2013 lo 0,7% del Reddito
nazionale in favore degli aiuti allo sviluppo. È stato incoraggiante, negli
ultimi anni, notare i segni positivi di una crescita della solidarietà verso i
poveri che riguarda tutto il mondo. Ma per tradurre questa solidarietà in
azione effettiva c’è bisogno di idee nuove, che migliorino le condizioni di
vita in aree importanti quali la produzione del cibo, la pulizia dell’acqua, la
creazione di posti di lavoro, la formazione, l’aiuto alle famiglie,
specialmente dei migranti, e i servizi sanitari di base. Quando è in gioco la
vita umana, il tempo si fa sempre breve: in verità, il mondo è stato testimone
delle vaste risorse che i governi sono in grado di raccogliere per salvare
istituzioni finanziarie ritenute “troppo grandi per fallire”. Certamente lo
sviluppo integrale dei popoli della terra non è meno importante: è un’impresa
degna dell’attenzione del mondo, veramente “troppo grande per fallire”.
Questo sguardo generale
alla cooperazione recente tra Regno Unito e Santa Sede mostra bene quanto
progresso sia stato fatto negli anni trascorsi dallo stabilimento di relazioni
diplomatiche bilaterali, in favore della promozione nel mondo dei molti valori
di fondo che condividiamo. Spero e prego che questa relazione continuerà a
portare frutto e che si rifletterà in una crescente accettazione della
necessità di dialogo e rispetto, a tutti i livelli della società, tra il mondo
della ragione ed il mondo della fede. Sono certo che anche in questo Paese vi
sono molti campi in cui la Chiesa e le pubbliche autorità possono lavorare insieme
per il bene dei cittadini, in armonia con la storica pratica di questo
Parlamento di invocare la guida dello Spirito su quanti cercano di migliorare
le condizioni di vita di tutto il genere umano. Affinché questa cooperazione
sia possibile, le istituzioni religiose, comprese quelle legate alla Chiesa
cattolica, devono essere libere di agire in accordo con i propri principi e le
proprie specifiche convinzioni, basate sulla fede e sull’insegnamento ufficiale
della Chiesa. In questo modo potranno essere garantiti quei diritti
fondamentali, quali la libertà religiosa, la libertà di coscienza e la libertà
di associazione. Gli angeli che ci guardano dalla magnifica volta di questa
antica Sala ci ricordano la lunga tradizione da cui il Parlamento britannico si
è sviluppato. Essi ci ricordano che Dio vigila costantemente su di noi, per
guidarci e proteggerci. Ed essi ci chiamano a riconoscere il contributo vitale
che il credo religioso ha reso e può continuare a rendere alla vita della
nazione.
Signor Presidente, La
ringrazio ancora per questa opportunità di rivolgermi brevemente a questo
distinto uditorio. Mi permetta di assicurare a Lei e al Signor Presidente della
Camera dei Lords i miei auguri e la mia costante preghiera per Voi e per il
fruttuoso lavoro di entrambe le Camere di questo antico Parlamento. Grazie, e
Dio vi benedica tutti!
*L'Osservatore
Romano 19.9.2010 p.4, 5.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Vitrail représentant Dunstan de Cantorbéry, Thomas More et Lanfranc.
St. Dunstan's,
Canterbury (stained glass) - Saint Dunstan on
stained-glass windows - Thomas More on
stained-glass windows - Lanfranc of Pavia
Vitrail Thomas More - église Saint-Dunstan, Cantorbéry
St. Dunstan's, Canterbury (stained glass) - Saint Dunstan on stained-glass windows - Thomas More on stained-glass windows - Lanfranc of Pavia
Thomas More
(1478-1535)
Beatificazione:
- 29 dicembre 1886
- Papa Leone XIII
Canonizzazione:
- 22 giugno 1935
- Papa Pio XI
- Basilica Vaticana
Ricorrenza:
- 22 giugno
Tommaso Moro un uomo per questa stagione
Tommaso Moro, la luce della coscienza (podcast Vatican News)
Laico, padre di
famiglia di vita integerrima e gran cancelliere, martire, che, essendosi
opposto al re Enrico VIII nella controversia sul suo divorzio e sul primato del
Romano Pontefice fu, assieme a John Fisher, vescovo di Rochester, rinchiuso
nella Torre di Londra in Inghilterra, per la sua fedeltà alla Chiesa cattolica
il 6 luglio si unì nel martirio al venerabile presule. Nel 2000 venne
dichiarato patrono degli statisti e dei politici da Papa Giovanni Paolo
II. Grande era la sua fama di uomo integerrimo e gioviale, giudice giusto,
colto e stimato dagli umanisti europei, tanto che Erasmo da Rotterdam gli
dedicò il suo “Elogio della follia”; amato dal popolo per la sua carità,
conosciuto per il suo senso dell’umorismo e il suo fine intelletto, come
traspare dalle sue opere e dalla sua vita. Ma Tommaso Moro fu, prima e
soprattutto, un uomo di fede.
"Muoio da suddito
fedele al re, ma innanzitutto a Dio"
Thomas More (Tommaso
Moro) nasce a Londra nel 1478 da rispettabile famiglia, figlio di un avvocato.
La sua vita privata passa
per la vicinanza ai francescani di Greenwich e per un periodo presso la Certosa
di Londra, poi per il matrimonio con Jane Colt dalla quale ha 4 figli e quindi,
rimasto vedovo, per un nuovo matrimonio con Alice Middleton. Marito e padre, si
impegna nell’educazione intellettuale e religiosa dei figli, nella sua casa
sempre aperta agli amici.
La sua vita pubblica lo
vede lavorare come membro del Parlamento e ricoprire diversi incarichi
diplomatici. Scrive nel 1516 la sua opera più nota, “L’Utopia”. E ancora, è
giudice, presidente della Camera dei Comuni. Come consigliere e segretario del
re, è impegnato contro la Riforma protestante. Contribuisce alla stesura de “La
difesa dei sette sacramenti”, opera che valse ad Enrico VIII il titolo di
Densor fidei. Un’ascesa inarrestabile, fino al culmine: è il primo laico ad
essere nominato Gran Cancelliere. Siamo nel 1529. Solo pochi anni dopo, nel
1532, la sua vita cambierà decisamente. Tommaso darà le dimissioni e per la sua
famiglia si apriranno le porte di una vita di povertà e abbandono.
La sua vicenda si
intreccia con la stessa vita del re Enrico VIII che, deciso a sposare Anna
Bolena, fa dichiarare nullo dall’arcivescovo Thomas Cranmer il suo matrimonio
con Caterina d’Aragona, giungendo, in un’escalation di opposizione a Papa
Clemente VII, ad assumere la guida della Chiesa d’Inghilterra. Nel 1534 l’Atto
di Supremazia e l’Atto di Successione sanciscono la svolta. Tommaso si era già
ritirato dal mondo politico: non poteva approvare e, soprattutto, non vuole
rinnegare la fedeltà al Papa. Nel 1534 viene quindi imprigionato nella Torre di
Londra ma questo non basta a piegarlo.
La sua “linea”, che
continua ad essere quella del silenzio, non è però sufficiente a salvargli la
vita. Subisce un processo, nel corso del quale pronuncia una famosa apologia
sull’indissolubilità del matrimonio, il rispetto del patrimonio giuridico
ispirato ai valori cristiani, la libertà della Chiesa di fronte allo Stato.
Viene condannato per alto tradimento e decapitato il 6 luglio, pochi giorni
dopo Giovanni Fisher, di cui era grande amico, condannato per le stesse idee e
assieme a lui ricordato dalla Chiesa il 22 giugno.
Un uomo appassionato
della verità, Tommaso Moro, ammirato per “l’integrità - ricorda Benedetto XVI
nel discorso a Westminster Hall - con cui fu capace di seguire la propria
coscienza, anche a costo di dispiacere al sovrano, di cui pure era ‘buon
servitore’, poiché però aveva scelto di servire Dio per primo”.
SOURCE : https://www.causesanti.va/it/santi-e-beati/thomas-more.html
Tomb of St. Thomas More,Tower of London
1. Vom Leben und
Martyrium des heiligen Thomas Morus geht eine Botschaft aus, welche die
Jahrhunderte durchzieht und zu den Menschen aller Zeiten von der
unveräußerlichen Würde des Gewissens spricht. Wie das Zweite Vatikanische
Konzil in Erinnerung bringt, liegt im Gewissen »die verborgenste Mitte und das
Heiligtum im Menschen, wo er allein ist mit Gott, dessen Stimme in diesem
seinem Innersten zu hören ist« (Gaudium et spes, 16). Wenn die Menschen, Männer
und Frauen, auf den Ruf der Wahrheit hören, dann richtet das Gewissen ihr
Handeln mit Sicherheit auf das Gute aus. Gerade wegen seines bis zum blutigen
Martyrium erbrachten Zeugnisses für den Primat der Wahrheit vor der Macht wird
der heilige Thomas Morus als unvergängliches Beispiel für konsequentes
sittliches Verhalten geehrt. Seine Gestalt wird auch außerhalb der Kirche,
besonders bei denen, die die Geschicke der Völker zu lenken berufen sind, als
Quelle für eine Politik anerkannt, die sich den Dienst am Menschen zum obersten
Ziel setzt.
Kürzlich haben mich
einige Staatsoberhäupter und Regierungschefs, zahlreiche hochrangige Politiker,
manche Bischofskonferenzen und einzelne Bischöfe in Petitionen um die Ausrufung
des heiligen Thomas Morus zum Patron der Regierenden und der Politiker ersucht.
Unter den Unterzeichnern des Ansuchens befinden sich Persönlichkeiten
verschiedener politischer, kultureller und religiöser Herkunft, was von dem
lebhaften und weitverbreiteten Interesse für das Denken und Verhalten dieser
herausragenden Gestalt in Regierungsverantwortung zeugt.
2. Thomas Morus erlebte
in seinem Land eine außergewöhnliche politische Karriere. Der aus ehrenwerter
Familie stammende Thomas wurde 1478 in London geboren und kam schon als
Jugendlicher in das Haus des Erzbischofs von Canterbury und Lordkanzlers John
Morton. Danach setzte er das Rechtsstudium in Oxford und London fort, wobei
sein weitreichendes Interesse auch umfassenden Gebieten der Kultur, Theologie
und klassischen Literatur galt. Er lernte gründlich Griechisch, pflegte
geistigen Austausch und knüpfte freundschaftliche Beziehungen zu bedeutenden
Gelehrten der Kultur der Renaissance, darunter Erasmus Desiderius von
Rotterdam.
Seine religiöse
Sensibilität führte ihn durch eine ausdauernde asketische Praxis zur Suche nach
der Tugend: Er pflegte freundschaftliche Beziehungen zu den Observanten des
Konvents von Greenwich und lebte längere Zeit bei den Londoner Kartäusern.
Beide gehörten in die Reihe der Hauptzentren des religiösen Lebens im
Königreich. Da er sich zur Ehe, zum Familienleben und zum Engagement als Laie
berufen fühlte, heiratete er im Jahr 1505 Johanna Colt, die ihm vier Kinder
gebar. Johanna starb 1511, und Thomas vermählte sich in zweiter Ehe mit Alicia
Middleton, einer Witwe mit Tochter. Er war sein ganzes Leben lang ein
liebevoller und treuer Ehemann und Vater, der sich aus tiefer innerer
Überzeugung der religiösen, sittlichen und intellektuellen Erziehung seiner
Kinder annahm. Sein Haus nahm Schwiegersöhne, Schwiegertöchter und Enkel auf
und stand vielen jungen Freunden offen, die auf der Suche waren nach der
Wahrheit oder nach ihrer eigenen Berufung. Das Familienleben ließ im übrigen
breiten Raum für das gemeinsame Gebet und die lectio divina wie auch für
gesunde Formen einer häuslichen Rekreation. Thomas nahm täglich an der Messe in
der Pfarrkirche teil; von den strengen Bußübungen, die er auf sich nahm, wußten
jedoch nur seine engsten Familienmitglieder.
3. Unter König Heinrich
VII. wurde Thomas Morus im Jahr 1504 zum ersten Mal ins Parlament gewählt.
Heinrich VIII. erneuerte 1510 sein Abgeordnetenmandat und ernannte ihn auch zum
königlichen Vertreter in der Hauptstadt, womit er ihm eine herausragende
Karriere in der staatlichen Verwaltung eröffnete. Im darauffolgenden Jahrzehnt
übertrug ihm der König mehrmals Missionen in Angelegenheiten der Diplomatie und
des Handels und sandte ihn nach Flandern und in das Gebiet des heutigen
Frankreich. Nachdem er Mitglied des Königlichen Rates, Vorsitzender eines
großen Gerichtes, Unterschatzmeister und in den Adelsstand erhoben worden war,
wurde er 1523 Sprecher des Unterhauses und damit dessen Präsident.
Als sich das Land 1529 in
einer politischen und wirtschaftlichen Krise befand, wurde Thomas Morus, der
wegen seiner moralischen Zuverlässigkeit und Verstandesschärfe, seiner
Offenheit und seines Witzes sowie seiner außerordentlichen Gelehrsamkeit
hochgeachtet war, vom König zum Lordkanzler ernannt. Thomas, der als erster
Laie dieses Amt bekleidete, sah sich in eine äußerst schwierige Periode
gestellt, wobei er sich bemühte, dem König und dem Land zu dienen. Seinen
Prinzipien treu verpflichtete er sich, die Gerechtigkeit zu fördern und den
schädlichen Einfluß von Leuten einzudämmen, die auf Kosten der Schwachen eigene
Interessen verfolgten. 1532 legte er sein Amt nieder, da er nicht bereit war,
das Vorhaben Heinrichs VIII. zu unterstützen, der die Kontrolle über die Kirche
in England übernehmen wollte. Er zog sich aus dem öffentlichen Leben zurück,
und nahm damit in Kauf, mit seiner Familie Armut zu leiden und sich von vielen
verlassen zu sehen, die sich in der Bewährungsprobe als falsche Freunde
erwiesen.
Nachdem seine
unerschütterliche Entschlossenheit, jeden Kompromiß aufgrund seines Gewissens
abzulehnen, feststand, ließ ihn der König 1534 im Londoner Tower einkerkern, wo
er verschiedenen Formen psychologischer Nötigung ausgesetzt war. Thomas Morus
ließ sich nicht beugen und verweigerte die von ihm verlangte Eidesleistung,
weil sie mit der Annahme einer politischen und kirchlichen Ordnung verbunden
gewesen wäre, die einer unkontrollierter Herrschaft den Boden bereitete. Im
Verlauf des gegen ihn angestrengten Prozesses verteidigte er in einer
leidenschaftlichen Rede seine Überzeugungen von der Unauflösbarkeit der Ehe,
der Achtung vor dem Erbe des Rechts, das an christlichen Werten ausgerichtet
ist, und von der Freiheit der Kirche gegenüber dem Staat. Nach seiner
Verurteilung durch das Gericht wurde er enthauptet.
Im Laufe der Jahrhunderte
milderte sich die Diskriminierung was das Verhältnis zur Kirche anbelangt. 1850
wurde die katholische Hierarchie in England wieder errichtet. Dadurch war es
möglich, die Seligsprechungsprozesse zahlreicher Märtyrer einzuleiten. Gemeinsam
mit 53 anderen Märtyrern, darunter Bischof John Fisher, wurde Thomas Morus 1886
von Papst Leo XIII. seliggesprochen. Mit demselben Bischof zusammen wurde er
dann im Jahr 1935 anläßlich des vierhundertsten Jahrestages seines
Märtyrertodes von Papst Pius XI. in die Schar der Heiligen aufgenommen.
4. Viele Gründe sprechen
für die Ausrufung des heiligen Thomas Morus zum Patron der Regierenden und der
Politiker. Einer dieser Gründe ist, daß die Welt der Politik und Verwaltung den
Bedarf an glaubwürdigen Vorbildern spürt. Sie sollen ihr den Weg der Wahrheit
weisen in einem historischen Augenblick, da schwierige Herausforderungen und
ernste Verantwortung zunehmen. Denn ganz neue Erscheinungen in der Wirtschaft
verändern heute das Sozialgefüge. Gleichzeitig verschärfen die
wissenschaftlichen Errungenschaften auf dem Gebiet der Biotechnologien den
Anspruch, das menschliche Leben in allen seinen Formen zu verteidigen, während
die Versprechungen einer neuen Gesellschaft, die einer verwirrten öffentlichen
Meinung mit Erfolg angeboten werden, dringend klare politische Entscheidungen
fordern zugunsten der Familie, der Jugend, der Alten und der Ausgegrenzten.
In diesem Zusammenhang
empfiehlt es sich, auf das Beispiel des heiligen Thomas Morus zurückzuschauen,
der sich gerade deshalb durch beständige Treue zur Autorität und zu den
rechtmäßigen Einrichtungen auszeichnete, weil er in ihnen nicht der Macht,
sondern dem höchsten Ideal der Gerechtigkeit dienen wollte. Sein Leben lehrt
uns, daß das Regieren vor allem Übung der Tugend ist. Durch diesen strengen
moralischen Ansatz gestärkt, stellte der englische Staatsmann sein öffentliches
Wirken in den Dienst der Person, besonders wenn es sich um schwache oder arme
Menschen handelte; er führte die sozialen Auseinandersetzungen mit einem
besonderen Sinn für Gerechtigkeit; er schützte die Familie und verteidigte sie
mit unermüdlichem Einsatz; er förderte die umfassende Erziehung der Jugend. Die
tiefe Abneigung gegen Ehrentitel und Reichtum, die heiter-liebenswürdige Demut,
die ausgewogene Kenntnis der menschlichen Natur und der Vergänglichkeit des
Erfolges, die im Glauben verwurzelte Sicherheit im Urteil gaben ihm jene
Zuversicht und innere Stärke, die ihn in den Widrigkeiten und angesichts des
Todes aufrecht hielt. Seine Heiligkeit erstrahlte im Martyrium, doch sie wurde
vorbereitet von einem ganzen Arbeitsleben, das der Hingabe an Gott und an den
Nächsten galt.
Unter Hinweis auf
ähnliche Beispiele einer vollkommenen Harmonie zwischen Glauben und Werken habe
ich in dem nachsynodalen Apostolischen Schreiben Christifideles
laici geschrieben: »Die Einheit des Lebens der Laien ist von
entscheidender Bedeutung: Sie müssen sich in ihrem alltäglichen beruflichen und
gesellschaftlichen Leben heiligen. Um ihre Berufung erfüllen zu können, müssen
die Laien ihr Tun im Alltag als Möglichkeit der Vereinigung mit Gott und der
Erfüllung seines Willens sowie als Dienst an den anderen Menschen betrachten«
(Nr. 17).
Diese Harmonie zwischen
dem Natürlichen und dem Übernatürlichen stellt wohl das Element dar, das mehr
als jedes andere die Persönlichkeit des großen englischen Staatsmannes
bestimmt: Er führte sein intensives öffentliches Leben mit schlichter Demut,
die selbst im Angesicht des Todes von seinem berühmten »Sinn für Humor«
gekennzeichnet war.
Das war das Ziel, zu dem
ihn seine Leidenschaft für die Wahrheit führte. Der Mensch darf sich nicht von
Gott und die Politik nicht von der Moral trennen: Das war das Licht, das sein
Gewissen erleuchtete. Schon bei anderer Gelegenheit sagte ich: »Der Mensch ist
Geschöpf Gottes, und deshalb haben die Menschenrechte ihren Ursprung in Gott,
beruhen auf dem Schöpfungsplan und gehören in den Plan der Erlösung. Man könnte
vielleicht, mit einer etwas gewagten Formulierung, sagen: Die Rechte des
Menschen sind auch die Rechte Gottes« (Ansprache, 7.4.1998).
Gerade wenn es um die
Verteidigung der Rechte des Gewissens ging, leuchtete das Beispiel des Thomas
Morus in hellem Licht. Man kann davon sprechen, daß er auf einzigartige Weise
den Wert eines sittlichen Gewissens lebte, das »Zeugnis von Gott selbst [ist],
dessen Stimme und dessen Urteil das Innerste des Menschen bis an die Wurzeln
seiner Seele durchdringen« (Apostolisches Schreiben Veritatis splendor,
Nr. 58), auch wenn er im Hinblick auf das Vorgehen gegen die Häretiker, die
Grenzen der Kultur seiner Zeit erfahren mußte.
Das Zweite Vatikanische
Konzil bemerkt in der Konstitution Gaudium et spes, daß in der heutigen
Welt »das Bewußtsein der erhabenen Würde« wächst, »die der menschlichen Person
zukommt, da sie die ganze Dingwelt überragt und Träger allgemeingültiger sowie
unverletzlicher Rechte und Pflichten ist« (Nr. 26). Der Fall des heiligen
Thomas Morus macht eine Grundwahrheit der politischen Ethik deutlich. Die
Verteidigung der Freiheit der Kirche gegen unrechtmäßige Einmischungen seitens
des Staates ist nämlich gleichzeitig Verteidigung - im Namen des Primats des
Gewissens - der Freiheit der Person gegenüber der politischen Macht. Darauf
beruht das Grundprinzip jeder zivilen Ordnung, die der Natur des Menschen
entspricht.
5. Ich vertraue deshalb
darauf, daß die Erhebung der herausragenden Gestalt des heiligen Thomas Morus
zum Patron der Regierenden und der Politiker der Gesellschaft zum Wohl
gereicht. Im übrigen steht diese Initiative in vollem Einklang mit dem Geist
des Großen Jubiläums, das uns in das dritte christliche Jahrtausend führt.
Nach reiflicher
Überlegung gebe ich daher gern dem an mich gerichteten Ersuchen statt und ernenne
und erkläre den heiligen Thomas Morus zum himmlischen Patron der Regierenden
und der Politiker. Gleichzeitig gewähre ich, ihm alle Ehren und liturgischen
Privilegien zu erweisen, die den Patronen von Berufsständen zustehen.
Gelobt und gepriesen sei Jesus
Christus, der Erlöser des Menschen gestern, heute und in Ewigkeit.
Gegeben zu Rom, bei Sankt
Peter, am 31. Oktober 2000, dem dreiundzwanzigsten Jahr meines Pontifikates.
IOANNES PAULUS PP. II
© Copyright 2000 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
ANSPRACHE VON PAPST
BENEDIKT XVI.
Mister Speaker!
Ich danke Ihnen für den
Willkommensgruß im Namen dieser erlesenen Versammlung. Wenn ich mich nun an Sie
wende, so bin ich mir des Privilegs bewußt, hier in der Westminster Hall eine
Ansprache an das britische Volk und seine Vertreter halten zu dürfen. Dieses
Gebäude ist von einzigartiger Bedeutung in der gesellschaftlichen und
politischen Geschichte des Volkes dieser Inseln. Dabei möchte ich auch meine
Wertschätzung für das Parlament zum Ausdruck bringen, das schon seit
Jahrhunderten an diesem Ort besteht und das einen großen Einfluß auf die
Entwicklung von partizipativen Regierungsformen unter den Nationen ausgeübt
hat, insbesondere im Bereich des Commonwealth und den englischsprachigen
Ländern insgesamt. Ihre Tradition des common law bildet die Grundlage
für die Rechtsordnungen in vielen Teilen der Welt, und Ihre Sicht der
jeweiligen Rechte und Pflichten des Staates und der einzelnen Bürger sowie der
Gewaltenteilung stellt weltweit eine bleibende Inspiration dar.
An diesem historischen
Ort denke ich an die unzähligen Männer und Frauen im Lauf der Jahrhunderte, die
ihre Rolle bei den bedeutsamen Ereignissen spielten, die in diesen Mauern
stattfanden und das Leben vieler Generationen von Briten und auch anderen
geprägt haben. Besonders rufe ich die Gestalt des heiligen Thomas More in
Erinnerung, des großen englischen Gelehrten und Staatsmanns, der von Gläubigen
wie von Nichtglaubenden wegen seiner Rechtschaffenheit bewundert wird, mit der
er seinem Gewissen folgte, selbst um des Preises willen, daß es dem Herrscher
mißfiel, dessen „treuer Diener“ er war; denn er wollte an erster Stelle Gott
dienen. Das Dilemma, vor dem Thomas More in diesen schwierigen Zeiten stand,
diese stets aktuelle Frage nach dem Verhältnis zwischen dem, was dem Kaiser
gebührt, und dem, was Gott gebührt, bietet mir die Gelegenheit, mit Ihnen kurz
über den der Religion im politischen Leben zukommenden Platz nachzudenken.
Die parlamentarische
Tradition dieses Staates verdankt viel dem im Land verbreiteten Sinn für
maßvolle Zurückhaltung und dem Wunsch, einen echten Ausgleich zwischen den
legitimen Forderungen der Regierung und den Rechten der ihr untergebenen
Menschen zu erreichen. Im Lauf der Geschichte wurden einerseits mehrmals
entscheidende Maßnahmen zur Beschränkung der Machtausübung ergriffen,
andererseits konnten sich die politischen Institutionen des Landes mit
bemerkenswerter Stabilität entwickeln. Aus diesem Prozeß ist Großbritannien als
eine pluralistische Demokratie hervorgegangen, die großen Wert auf das Recht
auf freie Meinungsäußerung und politische Freiheit legt und Respekt für die
gesetzlichen Vorschriften zeigt mit einer starken Betonung auf den Rechten und
Pflichten des einzelnen und der Gleichheit aller Bürger vor dem Gesetz. Auch
wenn sie andere Begriffe verwendet, so hat die kirchliche Soziallehre mit
diesem Ansatz viel gemeinsam. Dabei bestimmt sie die Sorge, die einzigartige
Würde der als Ebenbild Gottes geschaffenen menschlichen Person zu bewahren und
das Augenmerk auf die der staatlichen Autorität zukommende Pflicht der
Förderung des Gemeinwohls zu legen.
Und doch begegnen uns die
fundamentalen Fragen, um die sich der Prozeß von Thomas More drehte, im Lauf
der Zeit auf stets neue Weise in den unterschiedlichen gesellschaftlichen
Umständen. Jede Generation muß sich auf der Suche nach dem Fortschritt im
Gemeinwohl neu fragen: Welche Verpflichtungen können Regierungen den Bürgern
rechtmäßig auferlegen und wie weit erstrecken sich diese? An welche Autorität
muß man sich wenden, um moralische Konflikte zu lösen? Diese Fragen bringen uns
direkt zu den ethischen Grundlagen des gesellschaftlichen Diskurses. Wenn die
den demokratischen Abläufen zugrundeliegenden moralischen Prinzipien ihrerseits
auf nichts Soliderem als dem gesellschaftlichen Konsens beruhen, dann wird die
Schwäche dieser Abläufe allzu offensichtlich; darin liegt die wahre
Herausforderung der Demokratie.
Die jüngste globale
Finanzkrise hat nur zu klar gezeigt, daß pragmatische Kurzzeitlösungen für
komplexe soziale und ethische Probleme unbrauchbar sind. Es besteht weitgehende
Übereinstimmung darüber, daß der Mangel an soliden ethischen Grundlagen für die
wirtschaftliche Tätigkeit zu den großen Schwierigkeiten beigetragen hat, unter
denen jetzt Millionen von Menschen auf der ganzen Welt zu leiden haben. Genauso
wie „jede wirtschaftliche Entscheidung eine moralische Konsequenz hat“ (Caritas
in veritate, 37), so hat auch im Bereich der Politik die ethische Dimension
der politischen Programme weitreichende Auswirkungen, die keine Regierung
ignorieren kann. Ein positives Beispiel dafür ist eine der besonders
bemerkenswerten Errungenschaften des britischen Parlaments, nämlich die
Abschaffung des Sklavenhandels. Die Kampagne, die zu diesem epochalen Gesetz
führte, basierte auf festen ethischen Prinzipien, die im Naturrecht verwurzelt
waren, und es hat einen Beitrag zum Fortschritt der Zivilisation geleistet, auf
die dieses Land zu Recht stolz sein kann.
Bei all dem geht es um
folgende zentrale Frage: Wo finden wir die ethische Grundlage für politische
Entscheidungen? Die katholische Lehrtradition sagt, daß die objektiven Normen
für rechtes Handeln der Vernunft zugänglich sind, ohne daß dazu ein Rückgriff
auf die Inhalte der Offenbarung nötig wäre. Dementsprechend besteht die Rolle
der Religion in der politischen Debatte nicht so sehr darin, diese Normen zu
liefern, als ob sie von Nichtgläubigen nicht erkannt werden könnten. Noch
weniger geht es darum, konkrete politische Lösungen vorzuschlagen, was gänzlich
außerhalb der Kompetenz der Religion liegt. Es geht vielmehr darum, auf der
Suche nach objektiven moralischen Prinzipien zur Reinigung und zur Erhellung der
Vernunftanstrengung beizutragen. Diese „korrigierende“ Rolle der Religion
gegenüber der Vernunft ist nicht immer willkommen, unter anderem weil
entstellte Formen der Religion wie Sektierertum und Fundamentalismus sich
selbst als Ursachen schwerer gesellschaftlicher Probleme erweisen können. Diese
Verzerrungen der Religion treten ihrerseits dann auf, wenn der reinigenden und
strukturierenden Rolle der Vernunft im Bereich der Religion zu wenig
Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt wird. Es ist also ein Prozeß in beide Richtungen. Ohne
die Korrekturfunktion der Religion kann jedoch auch die Vernunft den Gefahren
einer Verzerrung anheimfallen, wenn sie zum Beispiel von Ideologien manipuliert
wird oder auf einseitige Weise zur Anwendung kommt, ohne die Würde der
menschlichen Person voll zu berücksichtigen. Ein solcher Mißbrauch der Vernunft
war es ja auch, der den Sklavenhandel und viele andere gesellschaftliche Übel
erst ermöglicht hat, nicht zuletzt die totalitären Ideologien des zwanzigsten
Jahrhunderts. Darum würde ich sagen, daß die Welt der Vernunft und die Welt des
Glaubens – die Welt der säkularen Rationalität und die Welt religiöser
Gläubigkeit – einander brauchen und keine Angst davor haben sollten, zum Wohl
unserer Zivilisation in einen tiefen und andauernden Dialog zu treten.
Die Religion ist, anders
gesagt, für die Gesetzgeber nicht ein Problem, das gelöst werden muß, sondern
ein äußerst wichtiger Gesprächspartner im nationalen Diskurs. In diesem
Zusammenhang komme ich nicht umhin, meine Besorgnis zu äußern, daß die Religion
und besonders das Christentum in einigen Bereichen zunehmend an den Rand
gedrängt werden, auch in Ländern, die großen Wert auf Toleranz legen. Manche
sprechen sich dafür aus, die Stimme der Religion zum Schweigen zu bringen oder
wenigstens ganz auf die Privatsphäre zu beschränken. Andere behaupten, daß von
der öffentlichen Feier von Festen wie Weihnachten abgesehen werden sollte, und
begründen es mit der fragwürdigen Annahme, daß solche Bräuche Angehörige
anderer Religionen oder Nichtgläubige auf irgendeine Weise verletzen könnten.
Schließlich fordern einige – paradoxerweise mit dem Ziel, die Diskriminierung
zu bekämpfen –, daß von Christen, die ein öffentliches Amt ausüben,
gegebenenfalls verlangt werden sollte, gegen ihr Gewissen zu handeln. Das sind
besorgniserregende Zeichen einer Mißachtung nicht nur der Rechte gläubiger
Menschen auf Gewissens- und Religionsfreiheit, sondern auch der legitimen Rolle
der Religion im öffentlichen Leben. Ich möchte Sie alle daher einladen, in
Ihren Wirkungsbereichen nach Wegen zu suchen, wie der Dialog zwischen Glaube
und Vernunft auf allen Ebenen im Leben dieses Landes gefördert und belebt
werden kann.
Ihre Bereitschaft dazu
zeigt sich bereits in der vorher nie dagewesenen Einladung des heutigen Tages
an mich. Es kommt auch in den Anliegen zum Ausdruck, in denen Ihre Regierung
mit dem Heiligen Stuhl zusammenarbeitet. Im Bereich der Friedensbemühungen
werden Gespräche hinsichtlich der Ausarbeitung internationaler Abkommen zum
Waffenhandel geführt; im Bereich der Menschenrechte haben der Heilige Stuhl und
Großbritannien die Ausbreitung der Demokratie willkommen geheißen, besonders in
den vergangenen 65 Jahren; in der Entwicklungshilfe gibt es Zusammenarbeit im
Bereich des Schuldenerlasses, des fairen Handels und der Finanzierung der
Entwicklung, insbesondere durch die International Finance Facility,
den International Immunization Bond und das Advanced Market
Commitment. Der Heilige Stuhl hofft darauf, in der Zukunft mit Großbritannien
zum Wohl aller auch neue Wege zur Förderung des Umweltbewußtseins beschreiten
zu können.
Ich möchte auch besonders
erwähnen, daß die gegenwärtige Regierung die Verpflichtung übernommen hat, daß
Großbritannien ab 2013 0,7 Prozent seines nationalen Einkommens für
Entwicklungshilfe ausgeben wird. In den vergangenen Jahren war es ermutigend,
die positiven Zeichen einer weltweit zunehmenden Solidarität gegenüber den
Armen zu sehen. Aber die Umsetzung dieser Solidarität in effektive Maßnahmen
erfordert ein neues Denken, das zu einer Verbessung der Lebensbedingungen in
vielen Bereich führen kann wie der Nahrungsmittelproduktion, der
Trinkwasserversorgung, der Schaffung von Arbeitsplätzen, der Bildung, der
Familienförderung, besonders von Migranten, und der grundlegenden
Gesundheitsversorgung. Wo es um Menschenleben geht, drängt die Zeit immer: Doch
die Welt wurde Zeuge der enormen Mittel, die Regierungen zur Rettung von
Finanzinstitutionen aufbringen konnten, von denen man geglaubt hat, sie seien
„zu groß zum Scheitern“. Die ganzheitliche Entwicklung der Völker dieser Welt
ist gewiß nicht weniger wichtig: Das ist eine Aufgabe, die die Aufmerksamkeit
der Welt verdient und die fürwahr „zu groß zum Scheitern“ ist.
Der Überblick über die
Zusammenarbeit zwischen Großbritannien und dem Heiligen Stuhl in jüngster Zeit
zeigt gut, wie viel Fortschritt seit der Aufnahme bilateraler diplomatischer
Beziehungen bei der Förderung der vielen gemeinsamen Grundwerte in der ganzen
Welt erzielt werden konnte. Ich hoffe und bete, daß diese Beziehung weiter
Frucht bringen wird und daß sie sich auf allen Ebenen der Gesellschaft in einer
zunehmenden Anerkennung der Notwendigkeit eines Dialogs und des Respekts
zwischen der Welt der Vernunft und der Welt des Glaubens widerspiegeln wird.
Ich bin überzeugt, daß auch in diesem Land die Kirche und die staatlichen
Autoritäten in vielen Bereichen zum Wohl der Bürger zusammenarbeiten können, in
Übereinstimmung mit der historischen Tradition dieses Parlaments, den Beistand
des Heiligen Geistes für jene anzurufen, die sich für die Verbesserung der
Lebensbedingungen der Menschen einsetzen. Damit eine solche Zusammenarbeit
möglich wird, bedürfen religiöse Verbände – unter ihnen die mit der
katholischen Kirche verbundenen Institutionen – der Freiheit, nach ihren
eigenen Prinzipien und spezifischen Überzeugungen zu handeln, die auf dem
Glauben und der offiziellen Lehre der Kirche beruhen. Auf diese Weise werden so
grundlegende Rechte wie die Religions-, Gewissens und Versammlungsfreiheit
gewährleistet. Die Engel, die von der wunderbaren Decke dieses altehrwürdigen
Saales auf uns herabblicken, erinnern uns an die lange Tradition, aus der sich
die britische parlamentarische Demokratie entwickelt hat. Sie erinnern uns
daran, daß Gott stets über uns wacht, uns führt und uns schützt. Und sie laden uns
ein, den entscheidenden Beitrag anzuerkennen, den der Glaube zum Leben dieses
Landes geleistet hat und noch weiter leisten kann.
Mister Speaker, ich danke
Ihnen einmal mehr für die Gelegenheit, kurz zu diesem erlesenen Personenkreis
zu sprechen. Gerne versichere ich Ihnen und dem Lord Speaker meine besten
Wünsche und mein beständiges Gebet für Sie und für die fruchtbare Arbeit beider
Häuser dieses altehrwürdigen Parlaments. Vielen Dank und Gott segne sie alle!
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
1. De la vida y del
martirio de santo Tomás Moro brota un mensaje que a través de los siglos habla
a los hombres de todos los tiempos de la inalienable dignidad de la conciencia,
la cual, como recuerda el Concilio Vaticano II, "es el núcleo más secreto
y el sagrario del hombre, en el que está solo con Dios, cuya voz resuena en lo
más íntimo de ella" (Gaudium
et spes, 16). Cuando el hombre y la mujer escuchan la llamada de la verdad,
entonces la conciencia orienta con seguridad sus actos hacia el bien.
Precisamente por el testimonio, ofrecido hasta el derramamiento de su sangre,
de la primacía de la verdad sobre el poder, santo Tomás Moro es venerado como
ejemplo imperecedero de coherencia moral. Y también fuera de la Iglesia,
especialmente entre los que están llamados a dirigir los destinos de los
pueblos, su figura es reconocida como fuente de inspiración para una política
que tenga como fin supremo el servicio a la persona humana.
Recientemente, algunos
Jefes de Estado y de Gobierno, numerosos exponentes políticos, algunas
Conferencias Episcopales y Obispos de forma individual, me han dirigido
peticiones en favor de la proclamación de santo Tomás Moro como Patrono de los
Gobernantes y de los Políticos. Entre los firmantes de esta petición hay
personalidades de diversa orientación política, cultural y religiosa, como
expresión de vivo y difundido interés hacia el pensamiento y la conducta de
este insigne hombre de gobierno.
2. Tomás Moro vivió una
extraordinaria carrera política en su País. Nacido en Londres en 1478 en el
seno de una respetable familia, entró desde joven al servicio del Arzobispo de
Canterbury Juan Morton, Canciller del Reino. Prosiguió después los estudios de
leyes en Oxford y Londres, interesándose también por amplios sectores de la
cultura, de la teología y de la literatura clásica. Aprendió bien el griego y
mantuvo relaciones de intercambio y amistad con importantes protagonistas de la
cultura renacentista, entre ellos Erasmo Desiderio de Rotterdam.
Su sensibilidad religiosa
lo llevó a buscar la virtud a través de una asidua práctica ascética: cultivó
la amistad con los frailes menores observantes del convento de Greenwich y
durante un tiempo se alojó en la cartuja de Londres, dos de los principales
centros de fervor religioso del Reino. Sintiéndose llamado al matrimonio, a la
vida familiar y al compromiso laical, se casó en 1505 con Juana Colt, de la
cual tuvo cuatro hijos. Juana murió en 1511 y Tomás se casó en segundas nupcias
con Alicia Middleton, viuda con una hija. Fue durante toda su vida un marido y
un padre cariñoso y fiel, profundamente comprometido en la educación religiosa,
moral e intelectual de sus hijos. Su casa acogía yernos, nueras y nietos y
estaba abierta a muchos jóvenes amigos en busca de la verdad o de la propia
vocación. La vida de familia permitía, además, largo tiempo para la oración
común y la lectio divina, así como para sanas formas de recreo hogareño. Tomás
asistía diariamente a Misa en la iglesia parroquial, y las austeras penitencias
que se imponía eran conocidas solamente por sus parientes más íntimos.
3. En 1504, bajo el rey
Enrique VII, fue elegido por primera vez para el Parlamento. Enrique VIII le
renovó el mandato en 1510 y lo nombró también representante de la Corona en la
capital, abriéndole así una brillante carrera en la administración pública. En
la década sucesiva, el rey lo envió en varias ocasiones para misiones
diplomáticas y comerciales en Flandes y en el territorio de la actual Francia.
Nombrado miembro del Consejo de la Corona, juez presidente de un tribunal
importante, vicetesorero y caballero, en 1523 llegó a ser portavoz, es decir,
presidente de la Cámara de los Comunes.
Estimado por todos por su
indefectible integridad moral, la agudeza de su ingenio, su carácter alegre y
simpático y su erudición extraordinaria, en 1529, en un momento de crisis
política y económica del País, el Rey le nombró Canciller del Reino. Como
primer laico en ocupar este cargo, Tomás afrontó un período extremadamente
difícil, esforzándose en servir al Rey y al País. Fiel a sus principios se
empeñó en promover la justicia e impedir el influjo nocivo de quien buscaba los
propios intereses en detrimento de los débiles. En 1532, no queriendo dar su
apoyo al proyecto de Enrique VIII que quería asumir el control sobre la Iglesia
en Inglaterra, presentó su dimisión. Se retiró de la vida pública aceptando
sufrir con su familia la pobreza y el abandono de muchos que, en la prueba, se
mostraron falsos amigos.
Constatada su gran
firmeza en rechazar cualquier compromiso contra su propia conciencia, el Rey,
en 1534, lo hizo encarcelar en la Torre de Londres dónde fue sometido a
diversas formas de presión psicológica. Tomás Moro no se dejó vencer y rechazó
prestar el juramento que se le pedía, porque ello hubiera supuesto la
aceptación de una situación política y eclesiástica que preparaba el terreno a
un despotismo sin control. Durante el proceso al que fue sometido, pronunció
una apasionada apología de las propias convicciones sobre la indisolubilidad
del matrimonio, el respeto del patrimonio jurídico inspirado en los valores
cristianos y la libertad de la Iglesia ante el Estado. Condenado por el
tribunal, fue decapitado.
Con el paso de los siglos
se atenuó la discriminación respecto a la Iglesia. En 1850 fue restablecida en
Inglaterra la jerarquía católica. Así fue posible iniciar las causas de
canonización de numerosos mártires. Tomás Moro, junto con otros 53 mártires,
entre ellos el Obispo Juan Fisher, fue beatificado por el Papa León XIII en
1886. Junto con el mismo Obispo, fue canonizado después por Pío XI en 1935, con
ocasión del IV centenario de su martirio.
4. Son muchas las razones
a favor de la proclamación de santo Tomás Moro como Patrono de los Gobernantes
y de los Políticos. Entre éstas, la necesidad que siente el mundo político y
administrativo de modelos creíbles, que muestren el camino de la verdad en un
momento histórico en el que se multiplican arduos desafíos y graves
responsabilidades. En efecto, fenómenos económicos muy innovadores están hoy
modificando las estructuras sociales. Por otra parte, las conquistas
científicas en el sector de las biotecnologías agudizan la exigencia de
defender la vida humana en todas sus expresiones, mientras las promesas de una
nueva sociedad, propuestas con buenos resultados a una opinión pública
desorientada, exigen con urgencia opciones políticas claras en favor de la
familia, de los jóvenes, de los ancianos y de los marginados.
En este contexto es útil
volver al ejemplo de santo Tomás Moro que se distinguió por la constante
fidelidad a las autoridades y a las instituciones legítimas, precisamente
porque en las mismas quería servir no al poder, sino al supremo ideal de la
justicia. Su vida nos enseña que el gobierno es, antes que nada, ejercicio de
virtudes. Convencido de este riguroso imperativo moral, el Estadista inglés
puso su actividad pública al servicio de la persona, especialmente si era débil
o pobre; gestionó las controversias sociales con exquisito sentido de equidad; tuteló
la familia y la defendió con gran empeño; promovió la educación integral de la
juventud. El profundo desprendimiento de honores y riquezas, la humildad serena
y jovial, el equilibrado conocimiento de la naturaleza humana y de la vanidad
del éxito, así como la seguridad de juicio basada en la fe, le dieron aquella
confiada fortaleza interior que lo sostuvo en las adversidades y frente a la
muerte. Su santidad, que brilló en el martirio, se forjó a través de toda una
vida entera de trabajo y de entrega a Dios y al prójimo.
Refiriéndome a semejantes
ejemplos de armonía entre la fe y las obras, en la Exhortación apostólica
postsinodal Christifideles
laici escribí que "la unidad de vida de los fieles laicos tiene
una gran importancia. Ellos, en efecto, deben santificarse en la vida
profesional ordinaria. Por tanto, para que puedan responder a su vocación, los
fieles laicos deben considerar las actividades de la vida cotidiana como
ocasión de unión con Dios y de cumplimiento de su voluntad, así como también de
servicio a los demás hombres" (n. 17).
Esta armonía entre lo
natural y lo sobrenatural es tal vez el elemento que mejor define la
personalidad del gran Estadista inglés. Él vivió su intensa vida pública con
sencilla humildad, caracterizada por el célebre "buen humor", incluso
ante la muerte.
Éste es el horizonte a
donde le llevó su pasión por la verdad. El hombre no se puede separar de Dios,
ni la política de la moral. Ésta es la luz que iluminó su conciencia. Como ya
tuve ocasión de decir, "el hombre es criatura de Dios, y por esto los
derechos humanos tienen su origen en Él, se basan en el designio de la creación
y se enmarcan en el plan de la Redención. Podría decirse, con expresión
atrevida, que los derechos del hombre son también derechos de Dios" (Discurso
a los jóvenes de la UNIV, 7 de abril de 1998, 3).
Y fue precisamente en la
defensa de los derechos de la conciencia donde el ejemplo de Tomás Moro brilló
con intensa luz. Se puede decir que él vivió de modo singular el valor de una
conciencia moral que es "testimonio de Dios mismo, cuya voz y cuyo juicio
penetran la intimidad del hombre hasta las raíces de su alma" (Enc. Veritatis
splendor, 58). Aunque, por lo que se refiere a su acción contra los
herejes, sufrió los límites de la cultura de su tiempo.
El Concilio Ecuménico
Vaticano II, en la Constitución Gaudium
et spes, señala cómo en el mundo contemporáneo está creciendo "la
conciencia de la excelsa dignidad que corresponde a la persona humana, ya que
está por encima de todas las cosas, y sus derechos y deberes son universales e
inviolables" (n.26). La historia de santo Tomás Moro ilustra con claridad
una verdad fundamental de la ética política. En efecto, la defensa de la
libertad de la Iglesia frente a indebidas ingerencias del Estado es, al mismo
tiempo, defensa, en nombre de la primacía de la conciencia, de la libertad de
la persona frente al poder político. En esto reside el principio fundamental de
todo orden civil de acuerdo con la naturaleza del hombre.
5. Confío, por tanto, que
la elevación de la eximia figura de santo Tomás Moro como Patrono de los
Gobernantes y de los Políticos ayude al bien de la sociedad. Ésta es, además,
una iniciativa en plena sintonía con el espíritu del Gran Jubileo que nos
introduce en el tercer milenio cristiano.
Por tanto, después de una
madura consideración, acogiendo complacido las peticiones recibidas, constituyo
y declaro Patrono de los Gobernantes y de los Políticos a santo Tomás Moro,
concediendo que le vengan otorgados todos los honores y privilegios litúrgicos
que corresponden, según el derecho, a los Patronos de categorías de personas.
Sea bendito y glorificado
Jesucristo, Redentor del hombre, ayer, hoy y siempre.
Roma, junto a San Pedro,
el día 31 de octubre de 2000, vigésimo tercero de mi Pontificado.
IOANNES PAULUS PP.II
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
ENCUENTRO CON
REPRESENTANTES DE LA SOCIEDAD BRITÁNICA
DISCURSO DEL SANTO PADRE
BENEDICTO XVI*
Señor Orador:
Gracias por sus palabras
de bienvenida en nombre de esta distinguida asamblea. Al dirigirme a ustedes,
soy consciente del gran privilegio que se me ha concedido de poder hablar al
pueblo británico y a sus representantes en Westminster Hall, un edificio de significación
única en la historia civil y política del pueblo de estas islas. Permítanme
expresar igualmente mi estima por el Parlamento, presente en este lugar desde
hace siglos y que ha tenido una profunda influencia en el desarrollo de los
gobiernos democráticos entre las naciones, especialmente en la Commonwealth y
en el mundo de habla inglesa en general. Vuestra tradición jurídica —“common
law”— sirve de base a los sistemas legales de muchos lugares del mundo, y
vuestra visión particular de los respectivos derechos y deberes del Estado y de
las personas, así como de la separación de poderes, siguen inspirando a muchos
en todo el mundo.
Al hablarles en este
histórico lugar, pienso en los innumerables hombres y mujeres que durante
siglos han participado en los memorables acontecimientos vividos entre estos
muros y que han determinado las vidas de muchas generaciones de británicos y de
otras muchas personas. En particular, quisiera recordar la figura de Santo
Tomás Moro, el gran erudito inglés y hombre de Estado, quien es admirado por
creyentes y no creyentes por la integridad con la que fue fiel a su conciencia,
incluso a costa de contrariar al soberano de quien era un “buen servidor”, pues
eligió servir primero a Dios. El dilema que afrontó Moro en aquellos tiempos
difíciles, la perenne cuestión de la relación entre lo que se debe al César y
lo que se debe a Dios, me ofrece la oportunidad de reflexionar brevemente con
ustedes sobre el lugar apropiado de las creencias religiosas en el proceso
político.
La tradición
parlamentaria de este país debe mucho al instinto nacional de moderación, al
deseo de alcanzar un genuino equilibrio entre las legítimas reivindicaciones
del gobierno y los derechos de quienes están sujetos a él. Mientras se han dado
pasos decisivos en muchos momentos de vuestra historia para delimitar el
ejercicio del poder, las instituciones políticas de la nación se han podido
desarrollar con un notable grado de estabilidad. En este proceso, Gran Bretaña
se ha configurado como una democracia pluralista que valora enormemente la
libertad de expresión, la libertad de afiliación política y el respeto por el
papel de la ley, con un profundo sentido de los derechos y deberes
individuales, y de la igualdad de todos los ciudadanos ante la ley. Si bien con
otro lenguaje, la Doctrina Social de la Iglesia tiene mucho en común con dicha
perspectiva, en su preocupación primordial por la protección de la dignidad
única de toda persona humana, creada a imagen y semejanza de Dios, y en su
énfasis en los deberes de la autoridad civil para la promoción del bien común.
Con todo, las cuestiones
fundamentales en juego en la causa de Tomás Moro continúan presentándose hoy en
términos que varían según las nuevas condiciones sociales. Cada generación, al
tratar de progresar en el bien común, debe replantearse: ¿Qué exigencias pueden
imponer los gobiernos a los ciudadanos de manera razonable? Y ¿qué alcance
pueden tener? ¿En nombre de qué autoridad pueden resolverse los dilemas
morales? Estas cuestiones nos conducen directamente a la fundamentación ética
de la vida civil. Si los principios éticos que sostienen el proceso democrático
no se rigen por nada más sólido que el mero consenso social, entonces este
proceso se presenta evidentemente frágil. Aquí reside el verdadero desafío para
la democracia.
La reciente crisis
financiera global ha mostrado claramente la inadecuación de soluciones
pragmáticas y a corto plazo relativas a complejos problemas sociales y éticos.
Es opinión ampliamente compartida que la falta de una base ética sólida en la
actividad económica ha contribuido a agravar las dificultades que ahora están
padeciendo millones de personas en todo el mundo. Ya que “toda decisión
económica tiene consecuencias de carácter moral” (Caritas
in veritate, 37), igualmente en el campo político, la dimensión ética de la
política tiene consecuencias de tal alcance que ningún gobierno puede
permitirse ignorar. Un buen ejemplo de ello lo encontramos en uno de los logros
particularmente notables del Parlamento Británico: la abolición del tráfico de
esclavos. La campaña que condujo a promulgar este hito legislativo estaba
edificada sobre firmes principios éticos, enraizados en la ley natural, y
brindó una contribución a la civilización de la cual esta nación puede estar
orgullosa.
Así que, el punto central
de esta cuestión es el siguiente: ¿Dónde se encuentra la fundamentación ética
de las deliberaciones políticas? La tradición católica mantiene que las normas
objetivas para una acción justa de gobierno son accesibles a la razón,
prescindiendo del contenido de la revelación. En este sentido, el papel de la
religión en el debate político no es tanto proporcionar dichas normas, como si
no pudieran conocerlas los no creyentes. Menos aún proponer soluciones
políticas concretas, algo que está totalmente fuera de la competencia de la
religión. Su papel consiste más bien en ayudar a purificar e iluminar la
aplicación de la razón al descubrimiento de principios morales objetivos. Este
papel “corrector” de la religión respecto a la razón no siempre ha sido
bienvenido, en parte debido a expresiones deformadas de la religión, tales como
el sectarismo y el fundamentalismo, que pueden ser percibidas como generadoras
de serios problemas sociales. Y a su vez, dichas distorsiones de la religión
surgen cuando se presta una atención insuficiente al papel purificador y
vertebrador de la razón respecto a la religión. Se trata de un proceso en doble
sentido. Sin la ayuda correctora de la religión, la razón puede ser también
presa de distorsiones, como cuando es manipulada por las ideologías o se aplica
de forma parcial en detrimento de la consideración plena de la dignidad de la
persona humana. Después de todo, dicho abuso de la razón fue lo que provocó la
trata de esclavos en primer lugar y otros muchos males sociales, en particular
la difusión de las ideologías totalitarias del siglo XX. Por eso deseo indicar
que el mundo de la razón y el mundo de la fe —el mundo de la racionalidad
secular y el mundo de las creencias religiosas— necesitan uno de otro y no
deberían tener miedo de entablar un diálogo profundo y continuo, por el bien de
nuestra civilización.
En otras palabras, la
religión no es un problema que los legisladores deban solucionar, sino una
contribución vital al debate nacional. Desde este punto de vista, no puedo
menos que manifestar mi preocupación por la creciente marginación de la
religión, especialmente del cristianismo, en algunas partes, incluso en
naciones que otorgan un gran énfasis a la tolerancia. Hay algunos que desean que
la voz de la religión se silencie, o al menos que se relegue a la esfera
meramente privada. Hay quienes esgrimen que la celebración pública de fiestas
como la Navidad deberían suprimirse según la discutible convicción de que ésta
ofende a los miembros de otras religiones o de ninguna. Y hay otros que
sostienen —paradójicamente con la intención de suprimir la discriminación— que
a los cristianos que desempeñan un papel público se les debería pedir a veces
que actuaran contra su conciencia. Éstos son signos preocupantes de un fracaso
en el aprecio no sólo de los derechos de los creyentes a la libertad de
conciencia y a la libertad religiosa, sino también del legítimo papel de la
religión en la vida pública. Quisiera invitar a todos ustedes, por tanto, en sus
respectivos campos de influencia, a buscar medios de promoción y fomento del
diálogo entre fe y razón en todos los ámbitos de la vida nacional.
Vuestra disposición a
actuar así ya está implícita en la invitación sin precedentes que se me ha
brindado hoy. Y se ve reflejada en la preocupación en diversos ámbitos en los
que vuestro gobierno trabaja con la Santa Sede. En el ámbito de la paz, ha
habido conversaciones para la elaboración de un tratado internacional sobre el
comercio de armas; respecto a los derechos humanos, la Santa Sede y el Reino
Unido se han congratulado por la difusión de la democracia, especialmente en
los últimos sesenta y cinco años; en el campo del desarrollo, se ha colaborado
en la reducción de la deuda, en el comercio justo y en la ayuda al desarrollo,
especialmente a través del International Finance Facility, del International
Immunization Bond, y del Advanced Market Commitment. Igualmente,
la Santa Sede tiene interés en colaborar con el Reino Unido en la búsqueda de
nuevas vías de promoción de la responsabilidad medioambiental, en beneficio de
todos.
Observo asimismo que el
Gobierno actual compromete al Reino Unido a asignar el 0,7% de la renta
nacional a la ayuda al desarrollo hasta el año 2013. En los últimos años, ha
sido alentador percibir signos positivos de un crecimiento mundial de la
solidaridad hacia los pobres. Sin embargo, para concretar esta solidaridad en
acciones eficaces se requieren nuevas ideas que mejoren las condiciones de vida
en muchas áreas importantes, tales como la producción de alimentos, el agua
potable, la creación de empleo, la educación, el apoyo a las familias, sobre
todo emigrantes, y la atención sanitaria básica. Donde hay vidas humanas de por
medio, el tiempo es siempre limitado: el mundo ha sido también testigo de los
ingentes recursos que los gobiernos pueden emplear en el rescate de
instituciones financieras consideradas “demasiado grandes para que fracasen”.
Desde luego, el desarrollo humano integral de los pueblos del mundo no es menos
importante. He aquí una empresa digna de la atención mundial, que es en verdad
“demasiado grande para que fracase”.
Esta visión general de la
cooperación reciente entre el Reino Unido y la Santa Sede muestra cuánto
progreso se ha realizado en los años transcurridos desde el establecimiento de
relaciones diplomáticas bilaterales, promoviendo en todo el mundo los muchos
valores fundamentales que compartimos. Confío y rezo para que esta relación
continúe dando frutos y que se refleje en una creciente aceptación de la necesidad
de diálogo y de respeto en todos los niveles de la sociedad entre el mundo de
la razón y el mundo de la fe. Estoy convencido de que, también dentro de este
país, hay muchas áreas en las que la Iglesia y las autoridades públicas pueden
trabajar conjuntamente por el bien de los ciudadanos, en consonancia con la
histórica costumbre de este Parlamento de invocar la asistencia del Espíritu
sobre quienes buscan mejorar las condiciones de toda la humanidad. Para que
dicha cooperación sea posible, las entidades religiosas —incluidas las
instituciones vinculadas a la Iglesia católica— necesitan tener libertad de
actuación conforme a sus propios principios y convicciones específicas basadas
en la fe y el magisterio oficial de la Iglesia. Así se garantizarán derechos
fundamentales como la libertad religiosa, la libertad de conciencia y la
libertad de asociación. Los ángeles que nos contemplan desde el espléndido
cielo de este antiguo salón nos recuerdan la larga tradición en la que la
democracia parlamentaria británica se ha desarrollado. Nos recuerdan que Dios
vela constantemente para guiarnos y protegernos; y, a su vez, nos invitan a
reconocer la contribución vital que la religión ha brindado y puede seguir
brindando a la vida de la nación.
Señor Orador, le agradezco
una vez más la oportunidad que me ha brindado de poder dirigirme brevemente a
esta distinguida asamblea. Les aseguro mis mejores deseos y mis oraciones por
ustedes y por los fructuosos trabajos de las dos Cámaras de este antiguo
Parlamento. Gracias y que les Dios bendiga a todos ustedes.
*L'Osservatore
Romano. Edición semanal en lengua española, n°39, p.3, 4.
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
VIAGEM
APOSTÓLICA DO PAPA BENTO XVI AO REINO UNIDO
(16-19 DE SETEMBRO DE 2010)
1. Da vida e martírio de
S. Tomás Moro emana uma mensagem que atravessa os séculos e fala aos homens de
todos os tempos da dignidade inalienável da consciência, na qual, como recorda
o Concílio Vaticano II, reside «o centro mais secreto e o santuário do homem,
no qual se encontra a sós com Deus, cuja voz se faz ouvir na intimidade do seu
ser» (Gaudium
et spes, 16). Quando o homem e a mulher prestam ouvidos ao apelo da
verdade, a consciência guia, com segurança, os seus actos para o bem.
Precisamente por causa do testemunho que S. Tomás Moro deu, até ao derramamento
do sangue, do primado da verdade sobre o poder, é que ele é venerado como
exemplo imperecível de coerência moral. Mesmo fora da Igreja, sobretudo entre
os que são chamados a guiar os destinos dos povos, a sua figura é vista como
fonte de inspiração para uma política que visa como seu fim supremo o serviço
da pessoa humana.
Recentemente, alguns
Chefes de Estado e de Governo, numerosos dirigentes políticos, várias
Conferências Episcopais e Bispos individualmente dirigiram-me petições a favor
da proclamação de S. Tomás Moro como Patrono dos Governantes e dos Políticos. A
instância goza da assinatura de personalidades de variada proveniência
política, cultural e religiosa, facto esse que testemunha o vivo e generalizado
interesse pelo pensamento e comportamento deste insigne Homem de governo.
2. Tomás Moro viveu uma
carreira política extraordinária no seu País. Tendo nascido em Londres no ano
1478 de uma respeitável família, foi colocado, desde jovem, ao serviço do
Arcebispo de Cantuária, João Morton, Chanceler do Reino. Continuou depois, em
Oxford e Londres, os seus estudos de Direito, mas interessando-se também pelos
vastos horizontes da cultura, da teologia e da literatura clássica. Dominava
perfeitamente o grego e criou relações de intercâmbio e amizade com notáveis
protagonistas da cultura do Renascimento, como Erasmo de Roterdão.
A sua sensibilidade
religiosa levou-o a procurar a virtude através duma assídua prática ascética:
cultivou relações de amizade com os franciscanos conventuais de Greenwich e
demorou-se algum tempo na cartuxa de Londres, que são dois dos focos principais
de fervor religioso do Reino. Sentindo a vocação para o matrimónio, a vida
familiar e o empenho laical, casou-se em 1505 com Joana Colt, da qual teve
quatro filhos. Tendo esta falecido em 1511, Tomás desposou em segundas núpcias
Alice Middleton, já viúva com uma filha. Ao longo de toda a sua vida, foi um
marido e pai afectuoso e fiel, cooperando intimamente na educação religiosa,
moral e intelectual dos filhos. A sua casa acolhia genros, noras e netos, e
permanecia aberta a muitos jovens amigos que andavam à procura da verdade ou da
própria vocação. Além disso, na vida de família dava-se largo espaço à oração
comum e à lectio divina, e também a sadias formas de recreação doméstica.
Diariamente, Tomás participava na Missa na igreja paroquial, mas as austeras
penitências que abraçava eram conhecidas apenas dos seus familiares mais
íntimos.
3. Em 1504, no reinado de
Henrique VIII, foi eleito pela primeira vez para o Parlamento. O rei
renovou-lhe o mandato em 1510 e constituiu-o ainda como representante da Coroa
na Capital, abrindo-lhe uma carreira brilhante na Administração Pública. No
decénio sucessivo, Henrique VIII várias vezes o enviou em missões diplomáticas
e comerciais à Flandres e territórios da França actual. Constituído membro do
Conselho da Coroa, juiz presidente dum tribunal importante, vice-tesoureiro e
cavaleiro, tornou-se em 1523 porta-voz, ou seja presidente, da Câmara dos
Comuns.
Estimado por todos pela
sua integridade moral indefectível, argúcia de pensamento, carácter aberto e
divertido, erudição extraordinária, foi nomeado pelo rei em 1529, num momento
de crise política e económica do País, Chanceler do Reino. Tomás Moro, o
primeiro leigo a ocupar este cargo, enfrentou um período extremamente difícil,
procurando servir o rei e o País. Fiel aos seus princípios, empenhou-se por
promover a justiça e conter a danosa influência de quem buscava os próprios
interesses à custa dos mais débeis. Em 1532, não querendo dar o próprio apoio
ao plano de Henrique VIII que desejava assumir o controle da Igreja na
Inglaterra, pediu a própria demissão. Retirou-se da vida pública, resignando-se
a sofrer, com a sua família, a pobreza e o abandono de muitos que, na prova, se
revelaram falsos amigos.
Constatando a firmeza
irremovível com que ele recusava qualquer compromisso contra a própria
consciência, o rei mandou prendê-lo, em 1534, na Torre de Londres, onde foi
sujeito a várias formas de pressão psicológica. Mas Tomás Moro não se deixou
vencer, recusando prestar o juramento que lhe fora pedido, porque comportaria a
aceitação dum sistema político e eclesiástico que preparava o terreno para um
despotismo incontrolável. Ao longo do processo que lhe moveram, pronunciou uma
ardente apologia das suas convicções sobre a indissolubilidade do matrimónio, o
respeito pelo património jurídico inspirado aos valores cristãos, a liberdade
da Igreja face ao Estado. Condenado pelo Tribunal, foi decapitado.
Com o passar dos séculos,
atenuou-se a discriminação contra a Igreja. Em 1850, foi reconstituída a
hierarquia católica na Inglaterra. Deste modo, tornou-se possível abrir as
causas de canonização de numerosos mártires. Juntamente com outros 53 mártires,
entre os quais o Bispo João Fisher, Tomás Moro foi beatificado pelo Papa Leão
XIII em 1886 e canonizado, com o citado Bispo, por Pio XI no ano 1935, quando
se completava o quarto centenário do seu martírio.
4. Muitas são as razões
em favor da proclamação de S. Tomás Moro como Patrono dos Governantes e dos
Políticos. Entre elas, conta-se a necessidade que o mundo político e administrativo
sente de modelos credíveis, que lhes mostrem o caminho da verdade num momento
histórico em que se multiplicam árduos desafios e graves responsabilidades. Com
efeito, existem, hoje, fenómenos económicos intensamente inovadores que estão a
modificar as estruturas sociais; além disso, as conquistas científicas no
âmbito das biotecnologias tornam mais aguda a exigência de defender a vida
humana em todas as suas expressões, enquanto as promessas duma nova sociedade,
propostas com sucesso a uma opinião pública distraída, requerem com urgência
decisões políticas claras a favor da família, dos jovens, dos anciãos e dos
marginalizados.
Em tal contexto, muito
pode ajudar o exemplo de S. Tomás Moro que se distinguiu pela sua constante
fidelidade à Autoridade e às instituições legítimas, porque pretendia servir
nelas, não o poder, mas o ideal supremo da justiça. A sua vida ensina-nos que o
governo é, primariamente, um exercício de virtude. Forte e seguro nesta
estrutura moral, o Estadista inglês pôs a sua actividade pública ao serviço da
pessoa, sobretudo dos débeis ou pobres; regulou as controvérsias sociais com
fino sentido de equidade; tutelou a família e defendeu-a com valoroso empenho;
promoveu a educação integral da juventude. O seu profundo desdém pelas honras e
riquezas, a humildade serena e jovial, o sensato conhecimento da natureza
humana e da futilidade do sucesso, a segurança de juízo radicada na fé
conferiram-lhe aquela confiança e fortaleza interior que o sustentou nas
adversidades e frente à morte. A sua santidade refulgiu no martírio, mas foi
preparada por uma vida inteira de trabalho, ao serviço de Deus e do próximo.
Aludindo a tais exemplos
de perfeita harmonia entre fé e obras, escrevi, na Exortação apostólica
pós-sinodal Christifideles
laici, que «a unidade de vida dos fiéis leigos é de enorme importância,
pois eles têm que se santificar na vida profissional e social normal. Assim,
para que possam corresponder à sua vocação, os fiéis leigos devem olhar para as
actividades da vida quotidiana como uma ocasião de união com Deus e de
cumprimento da sua vontade, e também como serviço aos outros homens» (n.º 17).
Esta harmonia do natural
com o sobrenatural é talvez o elemento que melhor define a personalidade do
grande Estadista inglês: viveu a sua intensa vida pública com humildade
simples, caracterizada pelo proverbial «bom humor» que sempre manteve, mesmo na
iminência da morte.
Esta foi a meta a que o
levou a sua paixão pela verdade. O homem não pode separar-se de Deus, nem a
política da moral: eis a luz que iluminou a sua consciência. Como disse uma
vez, «o homem é criatura de Deus, e por isso os direitos humanos têm a sua
origem n'Ele, baseiam-se no desígnio da criação e entram no plano da Redenção.
Poder-se-ia dizer, com uma expressão audaz, que os direitos do homem são também
direitos de Deus» (Discurso,
7 de Abril de 1998).
É precisamente na defesa
dos direitos da consciência que brilha com luz mais intensa o exemplo de Tomás
Moro. Pode-se dizer que viveu de modo singular o valor de uma consciência moral
que é «testemunho do próprio Deus, cuja voz e juízo penetram no íntimo do homem
até às raízes da sua alma» (Carta enc. Veritatis
splendor, 58), embora, no âmbito da acção contra os hereges, tenha sofrido
dos limites da cultura de então.
O Concílio Ecuménico
Vaticano II, na Constituição Gaudium
et spes, observa que tem crescido, no mundo contemporâneo, «a consciência
da eminente dignidade da pessoa humana, por ser superior a todas as coisas e os
seus direitos e deveres serem universais e invioláveis» (n.º 26). A vida de S.
Tomás Moro ilustra, com clareza, uma verdade fundamental da ética política. De
facto, a defesa da liberdade da Igreja face a indevidas ingerências do Estado é
simultaneamente uma defesa, em nome do primado da consciência, da liberdade da
pessoa frente ao poder político. Está aqui o princípio basilar de qualquer
ordem civil respeitadora da natureza do homem.
5. Espero, portanto, que
a elevação da exímia figura de S. Tomás Moro a Patrono dos Governantes e dos
Políticos possa contribuir para o bem da sociedade. Trata-se, aliás, de uma
iniciativa em plena sintonia com o espírito do Grande Jubileu, que nos introduz
no terceiro milénio cristão.
Assim, depois de maturada
reflexão e acolhendo de bom grado os pedidos que me foram feitos, constituo e
declaro S. Tomás Moro Patrono celeste dos Governantes e dos Políticos,
concedendo que lhe sejam tributadas todas as honras e privilégios litúrgicos
que competem, segundo o direito, aos Patronos de categorias de pessoas.
Bendito e glorificado
seja Jesus Cristo, Redentor do homem, ontem, hoje e sempre.
Dado em Roma, junto de
São Pedro, no dia 31 de Outubro de 2000, vigésimo terceiro ano de Pontificado.
IOANNES PAULUS PP. II
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
ENCONTRO COM AS
AUTORIDADES CIVIS
DISCURSO DO SANTO PADRE
Senhor Presidente!
Agradeço-lhe as palavras
de boas-vindas que me dirigiu em nome desta distinta assembleia. Ao dirigir-me
a Vossa Excelência, estou consciente do privilégio que me é concedido de falar
ao povo britânico e aos seus representantes na Westminster Hall, um edifício
que tem um significado singular na história civil e política dos habitantes
destas Ilhas. Permiti-me manifestar a minha estima pelo Parlamento, que há
séculos tem sede neste lugar e que teve uma influência realmente profunda sobre
o desenvolvimento de formas de governo participativas no mundo, especialmente
no âmbito da Commonwealth e, de uma maneira mais geral, nos países de
expressão inglesa. A vossa tradição de «common law» constitui o fundamento do
sistema legal em numerosas nações, e a vossa visão particular dos respectivos
direitos e deveres do Estado e do cidadão individualmente, bem como da
separação dos poderes, permanece como uma fonte de inspiração para muitos no
mundo.
Enquanto vos falo neste
lugar histórico, penso nos inúmeros homens e mulheres que, ao longo dos
séculos, desempenharam o seu papel em acontecimentos importantes que tiveram
lugar entre estas paredes e marcaram a vida de muitas gerações de britânicos e
de outros povos. De modo particular, gostaria de recordar a figura de São Tomás
More, o grande estudioso e estadista inglês, admirado por crentes e
não-crentes, em virtude da integridade com que ele foi capaz de seguir a sua
própria consciência, mesmo à custa de contrariar o seu soberano, de quem era um
«bom servidor», porque tinha preferido servir primeiro Deus. O dilema com que
Tomás More se confrontava, naqueles tempos difíceis, a perene problemática da
relação entre aquilo que é devido a César e o que é devido a Deus, oferece-me a
oportunidade de ponderar brevemente convosco sobre o justo lugar que o credo
religioso conserva no processo político.
A tradição parlamentar
deste país deve muito ao sentido instintivo de moderação presente na Nação, ao
desejo de alcançar um justo equilíbrio entre as exigências legítimas do poder
do Estado e os direitos daqueles que lhe estão sujeitos. Se por um lado, na
vossa história, foram dados numerosas vezes passos decisivos para estabelecer
limites ao exercício do poder, por outro, as instituições políticas da Nação
foram capazes de evoluir no interior de um notável grau de estabilidade. Ao
longo deste processo histórico, a Grã-Bretanha sobressaiu como uma democracia
pluralista, que atribui um grande valor à liberdade de expressão, à liberdade
de filiação política e ao respeito pelo Estado de direito, com um vigoroso
sentido dos direitos e deveres de cada indivíduo, bem como da igualdade de
todos os cidadãos diante da lei. A doutrina social católica, embora tenha sido
formulada numa linguagem diversificada, tem muito em comum com este abordagem,
se tivermos em consideração a sua solicitude fundamental pela salvaguarda da
dignidade de cada pessoa, criada à imagem e semelhança de Deus, e o realce que
dá do dever que as autoridades civis têm de promover o bem comum.
E, na verdade, as
questões fundamentais que estiveram em jogo no processo contra Tomás More
continuam a apresentar-se, em termos sempre novos, com a transformação das
condições sociais. Cada geração, enquanto procura promover o bem comum, deve
perguntar sempre de novo: quais são as exigências que os governos podem impor
razoavelmente aos seus próprios cidadãos, e até onde elas podem estender-se?
Que autoridade é possível interpelar, para resolver os dilemas morais? Estas
questões levam-nos directamente aos fundamentos éticos do discurso civil. Se os
princípios morais que sustentam o processo democrático não estiverem assentes,
por sua vez, em nada mais sólido do que no consenso social, então a fragilidade
do processo demonstrar-se-á em toda a sua evidência. Eis o principal desafio da
democracia.
A inadequação de soluções
pragmáticas, a curto prazo, para os complexos problemas sociais e éticos foi
ressaltada pela recente crise financeira global. Houve um consenso sobre o
facto de que a falta de um sólido fundamento ético da actividade económica contribuiu
para criar a situação de grave dificuldade na qual hoje se encontram milhões de
pessoas no mundo inteiro. Assim como «cada decisão económica tem uma
consequência de índole moral» (Caritas
in veritate, 37), analogamente, no campo político, a dimensão moral das
políticas postas em prática tem consequências de vasto alcance, que nenhum
governo pode ignorar. Uma exemplificação positiva daquilo que se pode encontrar
numa das conquistas particularmente notáveis no Parlamento britânico: a
abolição do comércio dos escravos. A campanha que levou a esta legislação
epocal fundamentou-se em princípios morais sólidos, assentes sobre a lei
natural, e chegando a constituir uma contribuição para a civilização, da qual
esta Nação justamente pode sentir-se orgulhosa.
Portanto, a questão
fulcral em jogo aqui é a seguinte: onde pode ser encontrado o fundamento ético
para as escolhas políticas? A tradição católica afirma que as normas objectivas
que governam o recto agir são acessíveis à razão, prescindindo do conteúdo da
Revelação. Em conformidade com esta compreensão, o papel da religião no debate
político não consiste tanto em oferecer tais normas, como se elas não pudessem
ser conhecidas pelos não-crentes — muito menos consiste em propor soluções
políticas concretas, o que está totalmente fora da competência da religião —
mas sobretudo em ajudar a purificar e lançar luz sobre a aplicação da razão na
descoberta dos princípios morais objectivos. Mas este papel «correctivo» da
religião em relação à razão nem sempre é bem acolhido, em parte porque
determinadas formas ambíguas de religião, como o sectarismo e o
fundamentalismo, podem mostrar-se elas mesmas como uma causa de sérios
problemas sociais. E, por sua vez, estas ambiguidades da religião sobressaem
quando não se presta uma atenção suficiente ao papel purificador e estruturador
da razão, no interior da religião. Trata-se de um processo que funciona em
duplo sentido. Com efeito, sem a correcção oferecida pela religião, até a razão
pode tornar-se vítima de ambiguidades, como acontece quando ela é manipulada
pela ideologia, ou então aplicada de uma maneira parcial, sem ter em
consideração plenamente a dignidade da pessoa humana. Considerando bem, foi
precisamente este uso ambíguo da razão que deu origem ao comércio dos escravos
e, sucessivamente, a muitos outros males sociais, não menos grave as ideologias
totalitárias do século xx. Por isso, gostaria de sugerir que o mundo da razão e
o mundo da fé — o mundo da secularidade racional e o mundo do credo religioso —
precisam um do outro, e não deveriam ter medo de entrar num diálogo profundo e
contínuo, para o bem da nossa civilização.
Por outras palavras, para
os legisladores a religião não representa um problema a resolver, mas um factor
que contribui de forma vital para o debate público na nação. Neste contexto,
não posso deixar de manifestar a minha preocupação diante da crescente
marginalização da religião, de modo particular do Cristianismo, que se vai
consolidando em determinados ambientes, também em nações que atribuem um grande
valor à tolerância. Existem pessoas segundo as quais a voz da religião deveria
ser silenciada ou, na melhor das hipóteses, relegada à esfera puramente
particular. Outros ainda afirmam que a celebração pública de festividades como
o Natal deveria ser desencorajada, segundo a questionável convicção de que ela
poderia de alguma maneira ofender aqueles que pertencem a outras ou a nenhuma
religião. E há outros ainda que — paradoxalmente com a finalidade de eliminar
as discriminações — chegam a considerar que os cristãos que desempenham funções
públicas deveriam, em determinados casos, agir contra a própria consciência.
Trata-se de sinais preocupantes da incapacidade de ter na justa consideração
não apenas os direitos dos crentes à liberdade de consciência e de religião,
mas também o papel legítimo da religião na esfera pública. Por conseguinte,
gostaria de convidar todos vós, cada um na sua respectiva esfera de influência,
a procurar caminhos para promover e encorajar o diálogo entre fé e razão, a
todos os níveis da vida nacional.
A vossa disponibilidade
neste sentido já se manifestou no convite sem precedentes que me dirigistes
hoje, e encontra expressão naqueles sectores de interesse em que o vosso
Governo se tem comprometido juntamente com a Santa Sé. No campo da paz houve
intercâmbios a propósito da elaboração de um tratado internacional sobre o
comércio de armas; sobre os direitos humanos, a Santa Sé e o Reino Unido viram
positivamente o difundir-se da democracia, de modo especial nos últimos 65
anos; na área do desenvolvimento houve a colaboração no perdão da dívida, no
comércio equitativo e no financiamento do desenvolvimento, de forma particular
através da «International Finance Facility», do «International
Immunization Bond» e do «Advanced Market Commitment». Além disso, a
Santa Sé sente o desejo de procurar, juntamente com o Reino Unido, novos
caminhos para promover a responsabilidade ambiental, para o benefício de todos.
Depois, observo que o
actual Governo se comprometeu em destinar, até ao ano de 2013, 0,7% da renda
nacional a favor das ajudas ao desenvolvimento. Foi animador, ao longo dos
últimos anos, observar os sinais positivos de um aumento da solidariedade para
com os mais pobres, e isto diz respeito ao mundo inteiro. Todavia, para
traduzir esta solidariedade em obra eficaz são necessárias ideias novas, que
melhorem as condições de vida em campos importantes como a produção dos
alimentos, a purificação da água, a criação de postos de trabalho, a formação,
a ajuda às famílias, especialmente dos migrantes, e os serviços médicos
básicos. Quando a vida humana está em jogo, o tempo torna-se sempre breve: na
verdade, o mundo tem sido testemunha dos vastos recursos que os Governos são
capazes de reunir para salvar instituições financeiras consideradas «demasiado
grandes para falir». Sem dúvida, o desenvolvimento integral dos povos da terra
não é menos importante: trata-se de um empreendimento digno da atenção do
mundo, verdadeiramente «demasiado grande para falir».
Esta consideração geral
sobre a cooperação recente entre o Reino Unido e a Santa Sé mostra bem quanto
progresso foi alcançado nos anos passados pelo estabelecimento das relações
diplomáticas bilaterais, em benefício da promoção no mundo dos numerosos
valores fundamentais que compartilhamos. Espero e rezo para que esta relação
continue a dar fruto e que se reflicta numa crescente aceitação da necessidade
do diálogo e do respeito, a todos os níveis da sociedade, entre o mundo da
razão e o mundo da fé. Estou convicto de que também neste país existem muitos
campos em que a Igreja e as autoridades públicas podem trabalhar em conjunto
pelo bem dos cidadãos, em harmonia com a histórica prática deste Parlamento de
invocar a orientação do Espírito sobre quantos procuram melhorar as condições
de vida de todo o género humano. A fim de que esta cooperação seja possível, as
instituições religiosas, inclusive aquelas ligadas à Igreja católica, devem ser
livres de agir de acordo com os princípios e as convicções específicas que lhes
são próprias, fundamentadas na fé e no ensinamento oficial da Igreja. Deste
modo, poderão ser garantidos aqueles direitos fundamentais como a liberdade
religiosa, a liberdade de consciência e a liberdade de associação. Os anjos que
nos observam da magnífica abóbada desta antiga Sala recordam-nos a longa
tradição a partir da qual o Parlamento britânico se desenvolveu. Eles
recordam-nos que Deus vela constantemente sobre nós, para nos guiar e nos
proteger. E eles exortam-nos a reconhecer a contribuição vital que o credo
religioso deu e continua a oferecer à vida da Nação.
Senhor Presidente,
agradeço-lhe mais uma vez esta oportunidade de me dirigir brevemente a esta
ilustre assembleia. Permita-me assegurar-lhe, assim como ao Senhor Presidente
da Câmara dos Lords, os meus melhores votos e a minha oração constante por Vós
e pelo trabalho frutuoso de ambas as Câmaras deste antigo Parlamento. Obrigado,
e Deus abençoe todos vós!
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Thomas More Chambers, 51-52 Carey Street, London Stained glass window depicting Thomas More in Woolwich Town Hall, Woolwich, South East London.
SAINT THOMAS MORE. Dialogue du réconfort dans les tribulations : http://livres-mystiques.com/partieTEXTES/Thomas_More/table.htm
L’utopie ou Le Traité de
la meilleure forme de gouvernement (1516) : https://classiques.uqam.ca/classiques/More_thomas/more_thomas.html
Thomas More Studies : https://thomasmorestudies.org/
Un uomo per tutte le stagioni (film 1966) - https://it.cathopedia.org/wiki/Un_uomo_per_tutte_le_stagioni_(film_1966)
Un uomo per tutte le stagioni
(film 1988) - https://it.cathopedia.org/wiki/Un_uomo_per_tutte_le_stagioni_(film_1988)
Voir aussi : http://agora.qc.ca/dossiers/Thomas_More
