Following the example of St. Thomas More

Sometime before noon on 6 October 1536 in Vilvoorde, Belgium  a deeply devout English born Christian and priest  was executed. Iron chains were fastened to the top of the stake; and a noose of rope passed through it at neck height. Kindling and faggots were piled up in a pyramid around the stake. The victim was brought from the castle, with a small retinue of guards and friars. After refusing a final opportunity to recant, he was securely bound to the stake, by his feet, and by the iron chains around his calves and chest; the noose was placed round his neck. He had then a brief period in which to pray. History records that he cried, with fervent zeal and loud voice: 'Lord, open the king of England's eyes.' The executioner, standing immediately behind the stake, tightened the noose at the appropriate signal. It had not been shown that Tyndale was a relapsed heretic, and he qualified for the mercy of being strangled in the moments before the fire was lit.  Then it appears that the executioner bungled his work,  that the prisoner was still alive as the flames engulfed him. The executioner added fuel to the fire until the body was utterly consumed. The ashes were then disposed of, probably by throwing them into the sullen waters of a nearby river, so that no trace of the individual remained to 'defile the earth'.

  Ironically, history records that the precise charges under which our victim was executed, and numerous others before him, were completely reversed less than a year after* he was burned at the stake.  His crime:  translating  the word of God into English. His name was William Tyndale. His genius for words, which apparently matched that of Shakespeare, was to change the literary, religious and political landscape forever.  But the young Gloucestershire tutor paid for his efforts with his life:  reviled, driven abroad and finally burned at the stake. 

 Today Christians around the world probably take for granted their favorite version of the Bible in the vernacular.   Wikipedia reminds us that  the Latin Vulgate was dominant in Western Christianity through the Middle Ages.  Only the educated clergy could understand Latin while the common people were completely under their domination. Hence the obvious threat it posed to the church.  Today the Bible has been translated into more than  500 languages, while another 3,000 languages have at least some portion of the Bible.  At the same time it should be noted that the Latin Vulgate was itself a translation  from the Greek and Hebrew.

  In the eyes of the Church Tyndale’s crime was considered a heresy.  Heresy had been declared to be ‘treason against God’ by Pope Innocent III in 1199, and regarded as the worst of all crimes.  The great medieval theologian St. Thomas Aquinas even declared that it separated man from God more than any other sin.  The Church imposed a double jeopardy on heretics.  The earthly poena sensus, the punishment of the senses, was achieved by the stake and the fire.  The poena damni proclaimed by the bishops on Tyndale damned him to absolute separation from God and to an eternity in hell.  The Church could not itself carry out a burning.  To do so would defy the principle under which the Church does not shed blood.  Pope Lucius III had bypassed this inconvenience in 1184 by decreeing that unrepentant heretics should be handed over to the secular authorities for sentence and execution.

  The story which led to the execution of William Tyndale is filled with intrigue and betrayal by the Roman Catholic Church ably represented at the time by Sir Thomas More.  The latter, not unlike Victor Hugo’s Inspector Javert in Les Misérables, ruthlessly persecuted Tyndale with profound hatred and a zeal for blood. It is said that More’s obsession with Tyndale is to have unhinged him.  Lord Chancellor of England by day he devoted his night to penning half a million poisonous words attacking his great enemy which finally led to our victim's execution.

  According to Brian Moynahan in his  Book of Fire (2002) or God's Bestseller  “It may seem wrong, and perhaps it is wrong, that Thomas More should have been canonised in 1935 [,as a martyr of the schism that separated the Church of England from Rome]) and it is, at the very least, bizarre that he should have been further elevated in 2000 to become the patron saint of politicians.  Politicians persecute opponents readily enough without having More dangled in front of them as a role model.”

  It came as a complete surprise then that Cardinal Collins should recently urge Catholics ‘to follow the example of St. Thomas More and consider what More can teach us about religion’s role in civil society.’    Perhaps some Cardinals and other members of the Catholic hierarchy do not read secular histories and still adhere to reading only material dictated or approved by the Vatican.  However, in this age of instant electronic information/communication there is very little that escapes the spiritually hungry laity who should be extremely thankful to Tyndale and others that the Word of God  is now available in the vernacular to practically everyone.  Not to forget the Word of God placed upon their hearts,

  Finally, should we not all follow the one and only model Jesus Christ on which the Church supposedly built on to begin with? 

    For if God be on our side, what matter maketh it who be against us, be they bishops, cardinals, popes, or whatsoever names they will?    Quote from William Tyndale      

*   Even after English Bibles had been legalised and officially distributed, in 1543, social and sexual misgivings remained.  Noblemen and gentlemen were allowed to read the scriptures aloud in English to all in their households.  Noblewomen, and burghers, could 'read for themselves but for no one else any text in the Bible'  A statute was enacted to ban the reading of the English Bible absolutely to 'women, artisans, apprentices, and companions working for those of an equal or inferior rank to yeomen, farmers and manual labourers'.  - Brian Moynahan, Book of Fire. 

On gratitude

For more then twenty years, beginning with my conversion to Roman Catholicism, I participated and eventually directed weekly Adult Formation sessions better known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).

Throughout those years my passion for this rewarding task continued to grow as did my understanding of what it meant to accompany adult inquirers on a Catholic faith journey. My own experience as a convert proved to be a valuable asset along with numerous applicable leadership training seminars, including achieving a Diploma in Ministry from a world renowned Catholic University. Immediately prior to that period I completed five years of Catholic adult education studies under the direct tutelage from several extremely gifted, wise and compassionate religious order priests. It was during one of these sessions that one of these marvelous teachers offered us a challenge (with an obvious reference to the growing conservative attitude of the Church) that will remain with me forever. “If you don’t agree with what is happening in our Church” our instructor went on the say “then it is you that will have to find ways to implement change, because our hands are tied” as he clasped his hands as though handcuffed!

As dedicated members of our parish my wife and I served on many committees including Pastoral Council, Finance, Development & Peace, Grief, Marriage Prep., etc. not to mention hosting annual Seder meals, and several anniversary dinners for members of the parish clergy.

In the past twenty years I enjoyed many wonderful opportunities to share the ‘good news’ with interested adults throughout our diocese(we visited as many as twenty five separate parishes). Presentations aimed at spiritual renewal included ‘Life in the Spirit’, plus a series of Lenten reflection programs such ‘An Evening with Fr. Anthony de Mello, Henri Nouwen and Fr. Richard Rohr, just to name a few. All of these group programs were well received benefitting both recipient and presenter.

My work as a catechist and presenter, at these various functions came to a rather abrupt end. A newly appointed priest at our local parish took exception to my honest questions regarding certain theological differences and suggested I take an immediate ‘six month leave of absence’!

The unexpected response, mirrored the growing negative and fearful attitude, (explained in these pages) now so very evident among church leadership even at the highest levels. Subsequently we made the difficult, painful and necessary decision to leave the Roman Catholic Church.

With the exception of several dear priest friends, no (un)official attempt has ever been made, by this same distant church leadership to discover or heal the wounds that brought us, and so many others, to this decision.

On Being a Heretic

Photo: Old Catholic Church on the Island of Barbados

Copyright © 2003–2009 Deron E. Meranda

The heart is a heretic because it seeks unity of spirit, not uniformity of thinking.

Heretics are people who deviate from the norm. The word heretic comes from the Greek word 'haireses', meaning “to chose.” Heretics choose a path that differs from the norm. Jesus was a Jewish heretic, and Christianity began as a Jewish heresy.

Religious orthodoxy is the inevitable result of thinking exclusively from the head. Distinctions of “us-versus-them” dissolve when we see each other through the heart

From: Robert V. Thompson, ‘A Voluptuous God”

I truly think that I am guilty of being a heretic at times - at odds with the church on several sensitive issues, albeit with due respect and uncensored humility. Please note the following words in italics are my own,

ON THE Founding of the Catholic Church

Catechism of the Catholic Church, #763 (1994): Christ accomplished God the Father’s plan of salvation, which was the reason he was sent into the world. By preaching the good news of the reign of God, which had been promised in the Scriptures, Jesus inaugurated the Church.

Good News: Jesus came to inaugurate God’s Kingdom beginning here on earth for all people, not to establish an hierarchical institution complete with all its trappings. The keys of the Kingdom are the keys to living out a life in the Spirit based on Christ's teachings and example.

ON Original Sin

St. Augustine (CE 354-430): the guilt of Adam’s sin is passed on through “lust” involved in procreation.

Catechism of the Catholic Church # 390 (1994):The account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but affirms a primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of man. Revelation gives us the certainty of faith that the whole of human history is marked by the original fault freely committed by our first parents.

Good News: "Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind^* in our image, according to our likeness . . . God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good". (Gen. 126-31, NRSV)

We are God’s holy daughters and sons, created with his original blessing which is to share rather than to receive for the self (ego) alone; and the source of all our pain and suffering.

ON Apostolic Succession

Dogmatic Constitution of the Catholic Church, n. 20 (1965): “by divine institution bishops have succeeded to the place of the apostles”.

Good News: We are all ‘God’s people’, equal in status, (as promised by the Church through baptism) united by embracing diversity through the Spirit to share the ‘good news’ with all those God places in our path.

ON Salvation outside the Church

Catechism of the Catholic Church , # 846: (1994) ‘Outside the Church there is no Salvation” How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body.

Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 171,(2006): This means that all salvation comes from Christ, the Head, through the Church which is his body. Hence they cannot be saved who, knowing the Church as founded by Christ and necessary for salvation, would refuse to enter her or remain in her. At the same time, thanks to Christ and to his Church, those who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ and his Church but sincerely seek God and, moved by grace, try to do his will as it is known through the dictates of conscience can attain eternal salvation.

Good News: “those who sincerely seek God and open themselves to God’s grace can be saved even if they have no explicit knowledge of Christ”. (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 1965)

ON Universalism

St. Augustine(CE 354 - 330) : God does not actually will everyone to be saved; for if God did, no one would be lost.

Council of Constantinople (AD 553) : The concept known as Universalism holds that all persons and creatures are related to God or the Divine and will be reconciled to God. The Fifth General Council of the church in Constantinople officially condemned Universalism. Promoting it could result in punishment, even death, for heresy.

Good News: “God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Tim 2:3-4

If everyone understood their holy nature above their sinful or ‘false self’ believing that God desires to reconcile all in heaven, we could stop judging those we banish to hell and get on with the ‘here and now’! (see also my blog on ‘Heaven and Hell’')

ON Sexuality - Homosexuality

Catechism of the Catholic Church , # 2359, (1994): Homosexual persons are called to chastity . . they should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

‘Dominus Jesus’ (2002) Catholic Doctrinal Statement: “Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered to an intrinsic moral evil, and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder,”

Good News: The New Catholic Catechism (1969) “It is not the fault of the individual if he or she is not attracted to the other sex. The causes of homosexuality are unknown”

"I find it strange that, if I were to tell a cardinal in the Vatican that I was struggling with doubts about the existence of God, I would receive sympathy and support. But if I were to tell the same cardinal that I had doubts about papal teaching on contraception and the ordination of women, I would receive a stern lecture on loyalty to the pope". Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, 'Confronting Power & Sex in the Catholic Church'.

The aim of this pilgrim heretic, is not to take issue with organized religion, but rather to awaken that restless and questioning Spirit that rests within all hearts. A Spirit that will not rest until it rests in God.

more to come . . . .