When Henry VIII became head of the Church in England was the Church still Catholic?

A:

At this stage King Henry VIII did not really intend a clean break with the Church in Rome. He merely wanted to limit the power of the pope to make decisions regarding the Church in England. The unrestricted powers that the pope is regarded as holding today were not yet formalised, and there were precedents that Henry might have relied on, particularly the occasional right of kings to appoint bishops. Subsequent events, including Henry's excommunication, meant that his Church could no longer be considered part of the Roman Catholic Church.

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Catholic AnswerBe definition, the Catholic Church (in the Nicene Creed) is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. It must be one as it is Christ's Body (see Acts 9:1-5, 1 Cor 12:12-14). Thus its head is Jesus Christ, Himself, who is represented visibly in His Church by His Vicar, the Pope. The Church of England, like every other protestant church is a new creation that was formed by Henry VIII in the 16th century as a complete break from the Church that Jesus Christ founded. It wasn't until centuries later, that some Anglicans, in realizing what they had lost when they separated from the Church, sought to re-establish the apostolic ministry, and the Catholic trappings of their faith. They were not successful except in the most external manner. This has been definitely defined by the Pope, the Church of England in no way is Catholic.