What criticism did Henry VIII have of the Catholic Church?

Answer 1

That the Church would not indulge his personal sins and "bend the rules" for him, so he turned away from Christ and the Church and made up his own Church to suit himself.

Answer

King Henry VIII was a staunch Catholic and had no criticism of the Catholic Church. In fact, it was his defence of the Catholic Church against the claims of Martin Luther, that earnt him the papal attribute of 'Defender of the Faith'.

However, Henry believed he needed a son to ensure the succession to the crown, as there was no strong precedent for female successors. He knew that the Church's rules on annulment were somewhat elastic and so petitioned Pope Clement VII for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. His grounds would be that her prior marriage with his brother had been consummated and therefore her marriage with Henry was technically incestuous. Clement desperately wanted to please Henry but vacillated for too long. When Pope Clement had unsuccessfully engaged the armies of Emperor Charles in battle, he was no longer a free agent and realised that as Catherine was the aunt of the emperor he could do no other than to refuse the annulment. Henry, in turn, broke ties with the pope and ordered the English bishops to annul his marriage. His only criticism, if any, was that papal rulings that had applied to others should have also been available to him.

Answer 2

That the Church would not indulge his personal sins and "bend the rules" for him, so he turned away from Christ and the Church and made up his own Church to suit himself.

Answer

King Henry VIII was a staunch Catholic and had no criticism of the Catholic Church. In fact, it was his defence of the Catholic Church against the claims of Martin Luther, that earnt him the papal attribute of 'Defender of the Faith'.

However, Henry believed he needed a son to ensure the succession to the crown, as there was no strong precedent for female successors. He knew that the Church's rules on annulment were somewhat elastic and so petitioned Pope Clement VII for an annulment of his marriage to Catharine of Aragon. His grounds would be that her prior marriage with his brother had been consummated and therefore her marriage with Henry was technically incestuous. Clement desperately wanted to please Henry but vacillated for too long. When Pope Clement had unsuccessfully engaged the armies of Emperor Charles in battle, he was no longer a free agent and realised that as Catherine was the aunt of the emperor he could do no other than to refuse the annulment. Henry, in turn, broke ties with the pope and ordered the English bishops to annul his marriage. His only criticism, if any, was that papal rulings that had applied to others should have also been available to him.