† இன்றைய புனிதர் †
(ஆகஸ்ட் 8)
✠ அருளாளர் ஜான் ஃபெல்டன் ✠
(Blessed John Felton)
மறைசாட்சி:
(Martyr)
பிறப்பு: தெரியவில்லை
இறப்பு: ஆகஸ்ட் 8, 1570
ஏற்கும் சமயம்:
ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை
(Roman Catholic Church)
முக்திபேறு பட்டம்: கி.பி. 1886
திருத்தந்தை பதின்மூன்றாம் லியோ
(Pope Leo XIII)
அருளாளர் ஜான் ஃபெல்டன் பின்னணியைப் பற்றி அறியப்பட்ட கிட்டத்தட்ட அனைத்தும், அவருடைய மகள் “ஃபிரான்செஸ் சேலிஸ்பரி” (Frances Salisbury) என்பவரின் கதைகளில் இருந்து வருகிறது. அவரது கதையை வைத்திருக்கும் கையெழுத்துப் பிரதியில், அவருடைய வயது இருக்க வேண்டிய இடம் காலியாக இருக்கிறது. ஆனால் இவர், இங்கிலாந்து (England) நாட்டின் “கிழக்கு ஆங்கிலியா” (East Anglia) மாகாணத்தின் வசதி படைத்த “நோர்ஃபோல்க்” (Norfolk Ancestry) வம்சாவளியைச் சேர்ந்தவர் என்றும், மத்திய லண்டனின் (Central London) “சவுத்வார்க்” (Southwark) மாவட்டத்திலுள்ள ஆங்கிலேய பெனடிக்டின் (English Benedictine monastery) துறவுமடமான “பெர்மான்ட்சே” (Bermondsey Abbey) மடத்தில் வசித்தவர் என்றும் அறிய முடிகிறது.
குள்ளமான உயரம் கொண்ட, ஆகிருதியான, கருமை நிற மேனி வண்ணம் கொண்ட ஜான் ஃபெல்டனுடைய மனைவி, இங்கிலாந்து அரசி (Queen of England), முதலாம் எலிசபெத்தின் (Elizabeth I) சிறு வயது விளையாட்டுத் தோழியும், இங்கிலாந்து மற்றும் அயர்லாந்து நாடுகளின் அரசியான (Queen of England and Ireland) “மேரியின்” (Mary) மரியாதைக்குரிய பணிப்பெண்ணும் (Maid-of-Honour), அரசி மேரியின் தணிக்கையாளர்களில் (திருத்தந்தையர் நீதிமன்ற ஒரு சட்ட அதிகாரி) ஒருவரது விதவையும் ஆவார். நன்கு அறியப்பட்ட கத்தோலிக்கராக இருந்த ஜான் ஃபெல்டன், “அருளாளர் தாமஸ் ஃபெல்டன்” (Blessed Thomas Felton) என்பவரது தந்தையுமாவார்.
திருத்தந்தை ஐந்தாம் பயஸ் (Pope Pius V), கி.பி. 1570ம் ஆண்டு, ஃபெப்ரவரி மாதம், 25ம் நாள், இங்கிலாந்து அரசி (Queen of England), முதலாம் எலிசபெத்துக்கு (Elizabeth I) எதிராக, (Regnans in Excelsis) எனப்படும் ஒரு சுற்றறிக்கையினை வெளியிட்டிருந்தார். அந்த சுற்றறிக்கையின் நகல் ஒன்றினை வைத்திருந்த மற்றும் திருத்திய குற்றங்களுக்காக ஜான் ஃபெல்டன் கைது செய்யப்பட்டார். அரசி முதலாம் எலிசபெத்துக்கு எதிரான இவ்வறிக்கையினை வைத்திருத்தல் அல்லது பிரசுரித்தல் ஆகியன, மிகவும் தீவிரமான ராஜதுரோக குற்றமாக கருதப்பட்டது.
கி.பி. 1570ம் ஆண்டு, மே மாதம், 24ம் தேதி, இரவு 11 மணியளவில் இந்நடவடிக்கைகள் எடுக்கப்பட்டதாக சட்ட பதிவுகள் கூறுகின்றன. ஆனால், கிறிஸ்துவின் திருஉடல், திருஇரத்தம் விழா தினமான மறுநாள் அதிகாலை இரண்டிலிருந்து மூன்று மணிக்குள் நடந்ததாக “சாலிஸ்பரி” (Salisbury) பதிவுகள் கூறுகின்றன.
திருத்தந்தையின் அறிக்கை நகலை பெற்ற ஜான் ஃபெல்டன், அதன் நகல் ஒன்றினை தமது நண்பரான “வில்லியம் மெல்லோஸ்” (William Mellowes of Lincoln's Inn) என்பவருக்கு கொடுத்தார். லண்டன் நகரினுள்ளும், மற்றும் அருகிலுள்ள சுற்றுப்புற கத்தோலிக்க இல்லங்களிலும் ஒரு பொதுத் தேடல் நடத்தப்பட்டு, விரைவில் கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்டது. மே மாதம், 26ம் தேதி கைது செய்யப்பட்ட “வில்லியம் மெல்லோஸ்”, குற்ற நடவடிக்கையில் ஜான் ஃபெல்டனுக்கும் சம்பந்தம் உள்ளதாக கூறினார்.
தமது இராஜதுரோக செய்கையை உடனடியாக ஒப்புக்கொண்ட ஜான் ஃபெல்டன், தமது செய்கையை மகிமைப்படுத்தினார். மற்றும், எலிசபெத், இங்கிலாந்தின் அரசியாக இருக்க தகுதியற்றவர் என்று பிரகடனம் செய்தார்.
ஆகஸ்ட் மாதம், 4ம் நாளன்றும், தண்டனை அறிவிக்கப்பட்ட ஜான் ஃபெல்டன், லண்டனில் (London) உள்ள “செயின்ட் பவுல்” (St. Paul's Churchyard) ஆலய வளாகத்தில், நான்கு நாட்கள் கழித்து தூக்கிலிடப்பட்டார். அவர் தூக்கிலிடப்படுவதற்கு முன்னர், ஒருமுறை அல்லது இரண்டு முறை இயேசுவின் புனிதப் பெயரைச் சொன்னதாக அவருடைய மகள் கூறினார்.
திருத்தந்தை பதின்மூன்றாம் லியோ (Pope Leo XIII), கி.பி. 1886ம் ஆண்டு, இவருக்கு முக்திபேறு பட்டமளித்தார்.
† Saint of the Day †
(August 8)
✠ Blessed John Felton ✠ ✠
Martyr:
Born: Not known
Died: August 8, 1570
Venerated in: Roman Catholic Church
Beatified: 1886 AD
Pope Leo XIII
Feast: August 8
Blessed John Felton, was an English Catholic martyr, who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I.
Biographical selection:
In 1570, St. Pius V wrote the Bull that excommunicated Elizabeth I of England. The Pope accused her of assuming illicitly the title of the head of the Church, of deposing and imprisoning the canonically chosen Bishops and replaced them with schismatic bishops, of rejecting the ancient cult and favoring the new by receiving the sacraments in a heretical manner, of choosing heretics to form her council, and of imposing an oath harmful to the rights of the Holy See. He declared her guilty of heresy and stripped her of all her rights to the English Crown and released her subjects from obedience to her.
After the document was written, it raised so many objections in the Papal Curia that St. Pius V hesitated for a moment before signing it.
In the meantime, a Catholic insurrection rose in northern England but failed, and Elizabeth ordered the execution of at least 800 individuals involved in it. The Pope ordered the publication of the Bull, and on the morning of May 24, 1570, it appeared posted on the doors of the Palace of the Bishop of London.
The Royal Council, extremely angry, immediately ordered a full investigation to discover the author of the “crime.” A lawyer accused John Felton. Felton was an aristocrat of great fortune and culture, gifted with a most vivacious personality and filled with enthusiasm for the Faith of his ancestors. After he was arrested, he proudly confessed that he had affixed the Bull on the doors of the episcopal palace. Even under torture, he refused to give the name of his auxiliaries and faced the death of the traitor; to the end, he was proud of his action and declared himself a martyr of papal supremacy.
On the scaffold, he publicly denied the rights of Elizabeth to the throne; however, to show that he had no personal hatred for her, he asked the Count of Sussex to give her a valuable diamond ring that he removed from his finger before his death.
On August 8, 1570, Felton was hung; he was still alive when his virile organs were cut off to be thrown in the fire; his chest was opened to remove his heart; after being beheaded, his body was quartered.
Comments:
This is a description of a terrible episode, replete with admirable significance.
As you know, during the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern Age, England was a Catholic nation. But, due to successive moral decadences since the time of St. Thomas Becket, still in the Middle Ages, England fell into an extraordinary religious lukewarmness.
In the 16th century, King Henry VIII apostatized because he wanted the Pope to annul the marriage with his legitimate wife so that he could wed Anne Boleyn. The Pope refused. For this reason, King apostatized and almost all of England became heretical with him.
It is amazing to note that almost all of the English Bishops, almost all of the religious men and women, almost all of the clergy and almost all of the people were practicing the Catholic Religion with indifference, with disinterest. When the King apostatized, they accepted the new faith, which they could not but know was false.
They could not but know this because the Holy Spirit never abandons anyone and always gives the proportional strength to resist every danger. Grace is always available to help man and give him the strength to resist the temptation. Someone who leaves the Catholic Faith, therefore, commits a sin against the Holy Spirit, which is a gravest mortal sin. It is not possible for anyone to leave the Catholic Faith with good faith and authentic sincerity. Anyone who leaves it knows that he is leaving the truth and embracing error, and he knowingly takes this wicked action. Almost all of the English Nation committed this sin.
After the first phase, when this sin was committed, during which some great martyrs took good positions – such as Cardinal John Fisher and St. Thomas More – some reactions favoring the Catholic Faith surged. Its adherents were against Protestantism and plotted in secret to overthrow the Protestant Queen of England, Elizabeth I, the illegitimate daughter of the apostate Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
Before Elizabeth usurped the throne, the Queen had been Mary Tudor, a Catholic who was the legitimate daughter of Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon. Queen Mary had reestablished the Catholic Faith in England after the apostasy of her father and the short reign of her half-brother Edward. The English people, with a cynicism befitting of those times of Renaissance, after having become Protestant, returned to Catholicism. Then, once again, after the Catholic Queen Mary died, almost all of them reverted to Protestantism. This inconstancy reveals that they just wanted to live a good life and did not care about any religion.
Under the rule of Elizabeth I, however, a certain number of Catholics grouped together for their cause. They had the hope that Philip II, King of Spain – the Catholic King per excellence – would invade England to overthrow Elizabeth and reestablish the Catholic Faith in their country.
As you know, this did not happen, because although King Philip II prepared the Invincíble Armada, the winds dispersed it. The curious thing is that secular historians generally record the dispersion of the Undefeatable Fleet as a defeat for Philip II. I believe that this is a remarkable lack of vision. With a great spirit of faith, Philip II armed that fleet, which was so powerful that – if not for the winds – would have landed and conquered England. The Armada was not defeated; it was dispersed by a terrible storm. And so I ask: Who lost? Spain lost a fleet; England lost the Catholic Faith. Which nation was chastised? Obviously, it was England. It makes no sense to imagine that Spain was defeated.
At that time, the Pope was St. Pius V. He decided to support the action of Philip II by issuing a Bull excommunicating Queen Elizabeth. The Bull was extremely severe. It declared Queen Elizabeth a heretic and as such, it annulled her pretended rights to the Throne of England – pretended rights because she was an illegitimate child: the liaison of Henry VIII with her mother Anne Boleyn was not a marriage. Thus, she did not have the right to the Throne.
So, the reasons for her deposition were: first, as an illegitimate child she could not be queen; second, even if she had the right to the throne, she would have lost it because she was a heretic.
It happened that part of the English people did not know that Queen Elizabeth was excommunicated. Thus, knowledge of the Bull would enlighten those persons and encourage their revolt and support for the effort of Philip II.
John Felton – a noble and wealthy man – had everything he needed to enjoy a pleasant life. However, after he received the Bull, setting aside all worldly interests, he resolved to make the public aware of its existence. He took the Bull and went to the most provocative place he could find, which was the doors of the palace of the bishop of London, the heretic bishop of London. He went there and posted the Bull on those doors.
We can imagine London – a great city for the time, but small compared to the megalopolis of our days – covered with the darkness of night. The noble Felton, with a mantle covering his body and a large hat covering his face to prevent recognition, walks silently along its streets with the Bull hidden under his cape. He avoids any encounter with the night police that could frustrate his endeavor. He goes and climbs the stone steps of the Palace, posts the Bull at the doors, and leaves quickly.
In the morning, before the important classes were up and moving about, the little people pass by the Palace, see the paper, and approach to read the Bull. The word-of-mouth is out and spreads quickly, as it does in small cities. Soon, all the women of the market, the boatmen of the Thames, and the lackeys of the important houses were spreading the news everywhere: the Pope has excommunicated the Queen. He has declared that she does not have the right to govern and that the people should not obey her.
Denounced by a traitor, Felton was imprisoned. According to the false and heretical perspective of the Queen, he was guilty of treason because he was a noble plotting against his sovereign for her deposition. He was judged and condemned on the charge of high treason. Before his execution, he was also tortured to force him to reveal the names of collaborators. The tortures of the time were terrible. But the men of that epoch had much more physical and moral resistance to torture than today’s man. Fenton heroically resisted the tortures without revealing a single name.
On the scaffold he made an act of supreme elegance: He clearly declared that Elizabeth had no right to the throne, but then he sent her a jewel to show that there was no personal hatred in his opposition. He took his stance moved by doctrinal, not personal reasons. It was a way to say: I did the right thing when I made this attempt against her power. In the face of such great shame and so much horror, he became a splendorous example of fidelity to the Catholic cause.
We should recommend ourselves to Blessed Felton, asking him – if and when our turn to suffer torture and martyrdom comes – to give us his courage and perseverance so that, like him, our souls may become new stars shining in the firmament of the Church.
~ Late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
