He insisted that the papacy should have never given him dispensation to marry Catherine. Henry turned to Wolsey for assistance in securing a divorce.8 Three years of negotiations and a papal tribunal ensued, but the English court set up to hear the case could not come to a decision. The case was moved to Rome, against Henry's wishes. The negotiations and case continued until 1533, with Henry turning his personal battle into a full-scale public war, making the issue about the sovereignty of a secular state vs. The authority of the church.9 Despite the national issue, Henry had to move cautiously for his reform of the Church of England.

Several factors forced King Henry VIII to move carefully forward in his split from the Catholic Church. First, there was still loyalty to Rome within the English church. Rebellion was also a common threat, in general, for Tudor England, and Henry...
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