Saint Thomas More was a martyr for conscience against draconian and absolutely unjust mandates of a secular leader. As per the Catholic Encyclopedia,
- it was in 1530, that there "came the royal proclamation ordering the clergy to acknowledge Henry as 'Supreme Head' of the Church....[Sir Thomas More's] firm opposition to Henry's designs in regard to the divorce [from Catherine of Aragon], the papal supremacy, and the laws against heretics, speedily lost him the royal favour, and in May, 1532, he resigned his post of Lord Chancellor....
- "For the next eighteen months More lived in seclusion....Anxious to avoid a public rupture with Henry he stayed away from Anne Boleyn's coronation....Neutrality, however, did not suit Henry....
- "In March, 1534, the Act of Succession was passed which required all who should be called upon to take an oath acknowledging the issue of Henry and Anne as legitimate heirs to the throne, and to this was added a clause repudiating 'any foreign authority, prince or potentate'. On 14 April, More was summoned to Lambeth to take the oath and, on his refusal, was committed to the custody of the Abbot of Westminster. Four days later he was removed to the Tower....
- "In June, [Richard] Rich, the solicitor-general, held a conversation with More and, in reporting it, declared that More had denied Parliament's power to confer ecclesiastical supremacy on Henry....On 1 July, More was indicted for high treason.... More denied the chief charges of the indictment...and denounced Rich, the solicitor-general and chief witness against him as a perjuror....certainly no martyr ever surpassed him in fortitude"
