Are martyrs of 500 years ago really a burning issue for Welby?
IT WAS one of the bloodiest periods in English history, with thousands brutally put to death, often burned at the stake for their religious beliefs in the Reformation.
But even though Henry VIII’s war with the Pope began 500 years ago, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is expected to express his remorse this week.
The move was ridiculed by former Conservative Minister Ann Widdecombe, an Anglican who converted to Catholicism.
‘These gestures are pointless. The Archbishop has not put anyone to death, as far as I know,’ she said.
‘Modern Christians are not responsible for what happened in the Reformation.
‘You might as well expect the Italians to apologise for Pontius Pilate.’
The Most Rev Welby is drawing up a joint statement with the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, which is expected to call for repentance for the excesses of the period.
The initiative, which will stress the need to heal divisions, comes a month before the Church of England’s ‘Parliament’, the General Synod, debates the anniversary.
The Rev Andrew Atherstone, a member of the Synod and the Faith and Order Commission, said the Reformation remained ‘deeply embedded in our national psyche’ as the context for events such as the Spanish Armada and the Gunpowder Plot.
He said: ‘As the Church of England prepares to celebrate the Reformation, it should also repent of the violence and brutality it sometimes committed in God’s name.’
But critics questioned whether such regret so many centuries after the events had any value.
The Reformation is not even a required subject for the National Curriculum.
The Church has in the past been derided for apologising to Charles Darwin for initially misunderstanding his theory of evolution, and popes have been criticised for the Crusades and the treatment of the 17 Century astronomer Galileo for saying the Earth revolved round the sun. But a spokesman for the Archbishop of Canterbury said: ‘People often look to the past so they don’t make the same mistakes again and can move on.’ Sources said the joint statement by the Archbishops, to mark a week of prayer for Christian unity, is expected to welcome improvements in the relations between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches, while recognising that the Reformation left ‘lasting damage’. The English Refor- mation is usually dated from Henry’s break with Rome after the Pope refused to let him divorce Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn. Lord High Chancellor Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher were executed for opposing the King.
Henry’s eldest daughter Mary, who became Queen in 1553, remained loyal to Rome and was dubbed ‘Bloody Mary’ for her persecution of Protestant martyrs, burning around 300 ‘heretics’ including former Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.
But Elizabeth I, who succeeded her in 1558, reinforced Protestantism, and a large numbers of Roman Catholic martyrs were hanged, drawn and quartered.