Vice President Kamala Harris and the 16th-century British monarch Henry VIII share at least one trait in common: The belief that the government can force an individual to act against his conscience and in violation of his faith.
Henry VIII demonstrated this in his treatment of St. Thomas More.
More, a brilliant lawyer, experienced a meteoric rise in Henry VIII's England.
"More formally entered royal service in 1518 when he was sworn as a royal councillor and thereafter he rapidly rose in Henry VIII's esteem and was the king's principal secretary from 1519," says an essay by Neil Johnston posted on the website of the British National Archives.
"Mixing legal, diplomatic and secretarial work, More's career continued to blossom and he was promoted to the highest legal position in England when appointed to the lord chancellorship in October 1529, becoming one of the few laymen to hold this office," says this essay.
More resigned his office, however, after the pope declined to annul Henry VIII's marriage to Queen Katherine and the king nullified the marriage anyway. Then, Henry VIII made himself head of the church.
"In November 1534, Parliament reconvened and passed the Act of Supremacy that declared Henry and his lawful heirs as the head of the Church in England," says the essay on the British National Archives........