"Many countries in Europe did not go through reformation itself and are not worse for it. As I said, the Catholic church went through it own internal reformation (which I agree was overdue) and moved on. You mention Scotland but Ireland refused to follow suite per example. Many early reformed dutchy and princedom in middle europe later on went from reformed to catholic counter-reformed again.
I will agree, again, that the Catholic church needed reform as Thomas More said so himself. The church got its reform and lived on. There is nothing intrinsically better in being a "reformed" country or not as history moved on."

"I understand and respect your point, but equally respectfully ask that we agree to disagree. "

"I don't think this is historically accurate. I think Thomas More was guilty of rejoicing in print over a certain person who was burned, but I don't think he was instrumental in actually having anybody burned or attending a burning."

"I don't think so either, but in any case, More in this respect was a man of his time. Luther, Knox, and others of the Reformist persuasion also advocated burning for heretics whom they each defined as anyone who didn't have the same beliefs they did. More was an honest and tormented (about his own worthiness in the sight of God) man, but a good man at heart and a great father (I am reading "a Daughter's Love" just now, and More seems to have been an unusually loving and involved father for that time with a great sense of humor). He was not seeking martyrdom, but like many of both sides who were martyred, he could not sacrifce his core beliefs for political gain or even when pushed to it, to save his own life. He and the others, Reformist, Lutheran, or Roman Catholic who suffered the extreme penalties, were indeed the stuff of which martyrs were made.
It must also be remembered that in the mindset of the time, those inflicting the martyrdom really did believe they were saving the heretic's soul from eternal damnation.
The whole idea of that is foreign to us, but we need to see through the lenses of the period.
Of course, More was a human being and subject to human faults, but his attitude toward heretics was the attitude of the times on all sides of the religious debate in Europe. The thing is that as willing as he was to advocate inflicting execution on heretics, he was in the end willing to suffer it himself rather than betray his conscience."

"To tell the truth, i don't understand why it was Ireland was capable of persevering through the Reformation, we weren't exactly a strong country in terms of arms or even political standing, most of what populated Ireland during that period was English landlords, who took advantage of their positions, but then again we were very much overlooked.
"

"I have never been to Ireland so I am little out of touch with recent developments and the history of Ireland. But it seems to me (and you would know best so correct me if this is off) that Ireland’s attitude during the Reformation was that Henry could call himself Head of the Church of England until he was blue in the face and they would quietly go along with him but continue to see Rome as the head of the Catholic Church. I don’t really think Henry had the military strength or the desire to enforce the Reformation across ALL of Ireland. He really made this half-ass effort to put down some small revolts around the Pale and then seemed like he couldn’t be bothered. He probably was worried too much about Spain and France to deal with Ireland especially when technically the Irish were supposed to be his loyal subjects and some his fellow Welshman.

One last question….I am curious as to how Henry is remembered in Ireland today? What is the general attitude toward him? You guys did make him King of Ireland at one point.:)
"

"I think it's highly unlikely that Thomas would have tortured anyone. One prisoner that was kept in stocks at his house, Bucklersbury in Chelsea actually escaped because the stocks were in such bad repair! This is also a man that 'beat' his children with peacock feathers. He had a large menagerie of animals, and hated hunting. I know that as he clearly had devout religious convictions, he perhaps could have justified torturing prisoners to himself, but does it really seem likely? "