y adopted the emperor's advice to go slowly
and, as far as possible, in legal forms. Within a month of her
succession she issued a proclamation stating her intention to remain
Catholic and her hope that her subjects would embrace the same
religion, but at the same time disclaiming the intention of forcing
them and forbidding strife and the use of {320} "those new-found
devilish terms of papist or heretic or such like."

Elections to the first Parliament were free; it passed two noteworthy
Acts of Repeal, [Sidenote: Repeal of Reforming acts] the first
restoring the _status quo_ at the death of Henry VIII, the second
restoring the _status quo_ of 1529 on the eve of the Reformation
Parliament. This second act abolished eighteen statutes of Henry VIII
and one of Edward VI, but it refused to restore the church lands. The
fate of the confiscated ecclesiastical property was one of the greatest
obstacles, if not the greatest, in the path of reconciliation with
Rome. The pope at first insisted upon it, and Pole was deeply grieved
at being obliged to absolve sinners who kept the fruits of their sins.
But the English, as the Spanish ambassador Renard wrote, "would rather
get themselves massacred than let go" the abbey lands. The very
Statute of Repeal, therefore, that in other respects met Mary's
demands, carefully guarded the titles to the secularized lands, making
all suits relating to them triable only in crown courts.

The second point on which Parliament, truly representing a large
section of public opinion, was obstinate, was in the refusal to
recognize the papal supremacy. The people as a whole cared not what
dogma they were supposed to believe, but they for the most part
cordially hated the pope. They therefore agreed to pass the acts of
repeal only on condition that nothing was said about the royal
supremacy. To Mary's insistence they returned a blank refusal to act
and she was compelled to wait "while Parliament debated articles that
might well puzzle a general council," as a contemporary wrote.

Lords and Commons were quite willing to pass acts to strengthen the
crown and then to leave the responsibility {321} for further action to
it. Thus the divorce of Henry and Catharine of Aragon was repealed and
the Revival of treason laws were revived. [Sidenote: Revival of
treason laws] Going even beyond the limit of Henry VIII it was made
treason to "pray or desire" that God would shorten the queen's days.
Worse t