Investor's Business Daily, September 5th, 2007
Thomas Becket liked to conduct himself one way: to follow his conscience, even if that meant standing up to his king.
His courage would cost him his life. The way he lived that life would be deemed worthy of sainthood.
His king was Henry Plantagenet of England, known as Henry II. When Henry II named Becket chancellor of England in 1155, Becket became the second most powerful man in the country.
Becket served Henry II loyally at home and with him on the battlefield (in 1159). At the same time, Becket indulged in the privileged life a confidant and friend of the king of England could expect.
He also made sure that every action he took as chancellor benefited the country to the fullest while remaining fair. Even while balancing the country's budget, Becket would come down hard on tax collectors he learned were being overzealous.
When he negotiated on behalf of the king, Becket was careful to see that he entered each talk armed with all the facts possible. He corresponded with hundreds of overseas informants, and he spent sleepless nights studying notes he'd made or letters he'd received.
When Henry II decided to embark on a plan to bring England's Catholic Church back under the control of the monarchy, he decided to appoint Becket to the position of archbishop of Canterbury in 1162. Becket, as chancellor, had helped start the process of bringing more control for the monarchy over the whole of English life. Who better than the king's friend to help him complete the church task?
But Becket's loyalty wasn't blind. He met his responsibilities as chancellor and he'd do so as archbishop, even if that brought him into conflict with the king. Becket warned Henry II of that while the king pondered his appointment, writes Richard Winston in "Thomas Becket."
Henry II proceeded, and Becket's warning became reality. Their acrimony lasted eight years, before reconciling to a degree in 1170.
Upon becoming archbishop, Becket underwent a change: from a man of privilege who lived a life of luxury to a servant of the church and the people he represented.
He immediately set out to make a difference in the lives of the poor.
Every morning before dawn, Becket, after hours of prayer and study, arranged for 13 poor people to be assembled in a room at the archiepiscopal palace. "The archbishop would enter, lay aside his robes and wash the feet of Christ's poor," Winston wrote. Becket would then feed them and give each four silver coins.
"The money that Thomas had formerly lavished on ostentation, he now used for the benefit of the poor," Winston wrote.
He came into conflict with Henry II over such issues as taxation. When Becket's side prevailed in 1163, it marked the first time an English king had been rebuffed in efforts to raise taxes. Another conflict arose when Becket opposed Henry II's effort to re-establish the Constitutions of Clarendon, which was another attempt to give the monarchy more say in church matters.
"Henry schemed to regain what had been lost ... (but) in fact he provided the church with a leader of unequalled vigor and obstinacy," wrote Winston Churchill of Becket in "Heroes of History."
The two men made attempts to understand each other. While Henry II saw their conflict in terms of personal loyalty, Becket saw it in terms of duty to a higher power. In a private meeting at Northampton, the two rode out on horseback to talk out their differences. "Have I not raised you from poverty and lowliness to the summit of honor and rank?" the king asked Becket. "How is it then that after so many benefits, so many proofs of my love for you ... you have so soon been able to blot them from your mind, so that you are not only ungrateful but oppose me in everything?"
"I have not forgotten your favors," Becket said. "Far be it from me to be ungrateful or oppose your will in anything that accords with the will of God. ... You are indeed my lord, but He is my lord and yours. It would be useful neither to you nor me if I were to neglect His will in order to obey yours."
Becket found the courage to continue his stand against Henry II in biblical scripture, where he found resolve in passages such as God telling people they have a moral responsibility to "warn the wicked from his wicked way," and that failure to do so is wrong. Becket stuck to his principles and endured hardships. His opposition to Henry II forced him into exile in France for six years.
Upon his return to England in 1170, Becket remained as defiant as ever. He incurred Henry II's wrath for refusing to absolve several bishops whom the pope had suspended for participating in the coronation of Henry II's son, Prince Henry.
Becket's refusal led to Henry II's outburst in front of four of his barons. He reportedly said that there was no one who would "avenge me of this turbulent priest!"
The barons, hoping to secure the king's gratitude, set out for Canterbury Cathedral and murdered Becket while he was at evening prayers.
In killing Becket, they gave birth to a martyr whose influence flourished.
Just three years after Becket's murder, Pope Alexander III canonized him as a saint. Becket's burial shrine at Canterbury became a popular place of pilgrimage.
This story originally ran May 23, 2002, on Leaders & Success.
