Pope Benedict XVI is on a visit to Great Britain this week. The head of the Roman Catholic Church made news all around the world when he met with Queen Elizabeth II, his titular counterpart in the Church of England. The Church of England (or Anglican Communion) and the Roman Catholic Church have been separate entities for about half a millennium.
Queen Elizabeth II and Pope Benedict XVI
The meeting was by all accounts cordial. No excommunications were issued or blood shed for past wrongs. It is funny to think how the meeting might have gone if the pope had met with Queen Elizabeth I instead. The first Queen Elizabeth, who ruled from 1588 to 1603, was integral in cementing into place the work done by her father, Henry VIII, in founding the Church of England. She undid the work of her sister, Queen Mary I (also known as Bloody Mary), who worked endlessly to bring back the Catholic faith.
King Henry VIII is responsible for the formation of the Church of England. The infamously multi-wived king parted ways with the Roman Catholic Church when, in 1527, the Pope Clement VII refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Catherine had not produced any male heirs to the throne and Henry argued that it was because God was displeased with the marriage. Henry also had produced a male child with his mistress, Elizabeth Blount, so he felt that it was Catherine’s fault he had no legitimate male children.
Catherine had previously been married to Henry’s deceased brother, Prince Arthur of Wales. In order to marry her Henry actually needed to get a papal dispensation from Pope Julius II. To argue for the annulment Henry said that Pope Julius II was wrong to give the dispensation. It is against Catholic Canon law to annul a marriage on the basis of a previous papal dispensation, so Clement VII let the marriage stand. Supposedly this set the stage for the formation of the Church of England.
