DEFENSE OF THE ROYAL ASSERTION IBD

Sinopse

Many have heard of St. John Fisher, but usually in association with his fellow martyr, St. Thomas More and that he refused to accept Henry VIIIâÇÖs break from Rome, and was thus executed. Few know that Fisher was famous in the first half of the 16th century, not only as a holy reforming bishop, but also as one of the greatest theologians in Europe.áHis masterful theological acumen made him the right man to oppose the ill wind blowing in from Germany.Luther denied several Catholic doctrines, and asserted many other teachings which were false on Justification, the Papacy, the Sacraments, etc. In 1520 he was condemned by Pope Leo X in his bull Exsurge Domine, and Luther, far from recanting, reasserted his forty articles, and burned the entire corpus of Canon Law.áAs the crisis continued, Henry VIII of England sensed an opportunity to win prestige in letters which had been denied to him in war. He assembled numerous theologians who aided him in writing a defense of the ChurchâÇÖs sacraments against LutherâÇÖs treatise De Babylonica Captivitate, or, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. The 1521 publication of HenryâÇÖs Assertio did not escape LutherâÇÖs notice. The next year, he vigourously replied with his work Contra Henricum regem Angliê, or Against Henry, King of England. Throughout, Luther mocks Henry, and resorts to name-calling worse than what had hitherto been seen in print, while only giving limited response to the arguments. Henry would not respond-indeed, royal protocol would not allow him to acknowledge such insults against the royal person. Instead, he tapped Fisher to write a response.áThe present volume, The Defense of the Royal Assertion, is more aggressive than in his other works, aggrieved by LutherâÇÖs sheer impudence in not answering his king but hurling abuse at him instead. The extent to which Fisher defers to Henry and takes pains to defend him might surprise the reader, who has the benefit of history to know the poor reward Fisher was to receive for his efforts a mere 10 years later. In twelve chapters, Fisher dismantles not only LutherâÇÖs assault on Henry, but also the foundation of his sacramental theology:Chapter One: LutherâÇÖs Agitated Arrogance Is Openly DeceitfulChapter Two: His Apology That Attempts to Cover Notable Vices Is in VainChapter Three: Regarding the FaithfulâÇÖs Communion, the ChurchâÇÖs Custom Should Be ObservedChapter Four: The Substance of the Bread Does Not Remain with the Most Holy Body of ChristChapter Five: The Mass Is Not a TestamentChapter Six: The Mass Is Properly Called a Sacrifice and a Work by Those of Right FaithChapter Seven: Certain Quibbling Subterfuges and Lying Sophisms Are Laid BareChapter Eight: The Mass Is Not Solely a PromiseChapter Nine: Some of LutherâÇÖs False Accusations against the King Are Done Away WithChapter Ten: We Must Believe in the FathersâÇÖ United and Harmonious Scriptural InterpretationChapter Eleven: The Judgment of Doctrine Belongs to the Fathers Rather Than to the PeopleChapter Twelve: Orders and Matrimony Are Sacraments and Efficaciously Confer Grace