St.. Tomasz More.

Is it possible to win over evil ? Once upon a time even Christians did not believe, that slavery can be overcome, illiteracy, etc.. They thought, that it must be so. Yet they found themselves brave, who took up the difficult struggle with the existing evil and began to overcome it gradually. There were also Christians among them. They saw evil in the world of that time, and even in the Church, and gave him a fight.

In the play entitled. "Here is the traitor's head" the author shows the figure of Tomasz More (read on : Mor), also called Morus, who, by fighting evil, strove to renew the world and the Church. Who was Tomasz More and what he did ? - Tomasz More was an Englishman. He lived in 16 century in the era of humanism. He himself was an outstanding humanist and a faithful son of the Church. More encountered science and the ideals of humanism for the first time during his stay at the court of Cardinal Morton, chancellor and advisor to the king. Probably Morton was it, who came to mind, to send young Thomas to study in Oxford, where the humanities developed. There, Thomas learned Italian and Latin, Greek language, Hebrew, Chaldean and Arabic. He studied ancient philosophy. He became interested in the philosophy of the East. He also knew Christian philosophers, like for example. st. Thomas Aquinas.
He was a scholar and an outstanding statesman, therefore he was entrusted with various offices in the state. However, he did not flatter the king, but the opposite, when the need arose, pointed out his mistakes. Nevertheless, the king appreciated him and before making him his chancellor, gave him a high salary. Morus, however, refused to accept it, so as not to become dependent on the king and not to lose trust with the citizens.
When they were brought before the Royal Court 411 prisoners, men, women, thirteen-year-old children, because they made contact with foreign merchants, then More on his knees pleaded with Henry VIII for grace for them. The king heeded these prayers and the death sentences were carried out on only thirteen people.
As chancellor, Thomas saw the king's behavior up close. He didn't like everything. This is what he wrote about it :
,,Members of parliament know, that they were chosen for the people ; the king thinks, that people are at it, so that he can rule. The chancellor is careful, that the supreme duty of rulers should be to care for the welfare of society, for the welfare of the ruled, and not the rulers ". ,,The honor and safety of the ruler, he says, lie in the wealth of his subjects rather than his own. People choose it for that, that, thanks to his hardships and efforts, they may live in prosperity themselves, secured from any harm ".
Tomasz More he lived in times, when the rulers constantly waged wars. Yet nations, they ruled, were Christian. Tomasz More assessed it that way :
“Rulers are usually more willing to deal with military matters, and I don't know anything about them and I don't want to get acquainted with them ; and they neglect useful skills, on which the maintenance of peace depends, for they care much more, to get new areas for yourself, than to rule it, what they have ".
We are also amazed by the progressive social and economic views of Tomasz More. Here is the king officially announced, that the property of his subjects belongs to him and that it is in his interest, that the subjects have as little as possible. More responded to this in his book. ,,Utopia” :
,,You're wrong, who believe, that the poverty of the subjects is the best guarantee of peace. For where can you find more fights than between beggars? ?… Finally, what kind of people will bolder to cause general confusion, to revolution, if not you, who can gain something from it, because they themselves have nothing to lose ? Such a king, which… he could not keep citizens in obedience except by oppression, plunder and confiscation of property - such should rather give up the throne. Royal dignity requires, to rule not over beggars, but over wealthy and happy people… If one man overflows in pleasure and bliss, while all the destitute people moan and cry - he is not a king, but the jailer of the prison ".

Tomasz also saw exploitation, as ruled in England. The rich took their property from the poor, they have occupied for centuries. Thousands of disinherited peasants wandered the roads, unsuccessfully looking for employment. The unemployed became vagrants, beggars dying of hunger or thieves and robbers. Because at that time there was no standing police yet, detecting the crime was not easy. However, those who were captured were punished very severely, e.g.. for stealing brushwood in the forest, The fruit and grain from the field were punishable by death. Tomasz More writes, that "vagrants were hanged everywhere, sometimes twenty on one gallows, and yet unfortunately they were swarming all over England ". According to incomplete calculations for Henry VIII, approx 72 thousand. people.

Tomasz More seeing the harm of the peasants, he called for the king, rich lords and government : “Curb the selfishness of the rich, do not let them buy the ground and have a kind of monopoly in their hands… They invent all methods and tricks, with the help of which they could ensure the safe possession of ill-gotten property… Secondly, they want to exploit all the poor for their own interests and pay for their work and efforts as cheaply as possible ". Tomasz More he stigmatized not only the exploitation of the poor, greed of the rich, running for honors, but also endless religious disputes between Christians of different Churches. He fought for equality and brotherhood. Stigmatizing evil and fighting for what's right made him enemies, and eventually led to it, that More was sentenced to death by beheading. He was not afraid of death. He gave his life, to overcome evil, which grew among the people. Erasmus of Rotterdam is right to write about him : "More was the country's greatest defender and protector of the poor and the oppressed". The life and activities of Tomasz More were pleasing to God. Through his intercession, God bestowed favors on people, and the Church has declared him a saint.
Tomasz More was such a man. A great humanist and a great Christian. He remembered that, that at Baptism and Confirmation he undertook to fight against evil ; he continued this fight to the end. He believed, that in this way he contributes to the glory of God and brings relief to mankind. He certainly wanted to ensure the salvation of himself and others in this way.

■ Think:

You are baptized, and maybe already confirmed. So you have a duty to fight evil. Do you believe in ultimate victory over evil ? Did you feel discouraged when you failed? ? Maybe you've met such people, even Christians, who believe, that evil cannot be overcome.
Fortunately, such people are still alive today, who believe, like Tomasz More, that evil can be overcome, but you have to fight him, and sometimes you have to be able to sacrifice your own life.
Do you want to belong to these people? ?