|
|
 A strong man who
wavered for a moment, but then learned one cannot come to terms with evil
and so became a strong churchman, a martyr and a saint—that was Thomas
Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in his cathedral on December 29,
1170.
His career had been a stormy one. While archdeacon of Canterbury, he was
made chancellor of England at the age of 36 by his friend King Henry II.
When Henry felt it advantageous to make his chancellor the archbishop of
Canterbury, Thomas gave him fair warning: he might not accept all of Henry’s
intrusions into Church affairs. Nevertheless, he was made archbishop (1162),
resigned his chancellorship and reformed his whole way of life!
Troubles began. Henry insisted upon usurping Church rights. At one time,
supposing some conciliatory action possible, Thomas came close to
compromise. He momentarily approved the Constitutions of Clarendon, which
would have denied the clergy the right of trial by a Church court and
prevented them from making direct appeal to Rome. But Thomas rejected the
Constitutions, fled to France for safety and remained in exile for seven
years. When he returned to England, he suspected it would mean certain
death. Because Thomas refused to remit censures he had placed upon bishops
favored by the king, Henry cried out in a rage, “Will no one rid me of this
troublesome priest!” Four knights, taking his words as his wish, slew Thomas
in the Canterbury cathedral.
Within three years Thomas was a saint of the Church and his tomb a shrine of
pilgrimage. Henry II himself did penance at Thomas’s tomb, but a later Henry
(VIII) despoiled that tomb and scattered the saint’s relics. Thomas Becket,
however, remains a hero-saint down to our own times.
|
|
