Henry the VIII, I am!

Take a look at this excerpt from a history book about Henry VIII. For homework tonight, read this post. Then, pretend you are Henry VIII. Write a letter (on paper) to Pope Leo X justifying the reasons for wanting an annulment from Catherine of Aragon. Be sure to express the actions you (King Henry) will take if your requests are not met.

The Protestant Reformation began with criticism of the Catholic Church by priests and other religious thinkers.  In England, the Reformation began with the king.
    Henry VIII became king of England in 1509 at the age of 17.  As a young king, he was a devout Catholic who wrote angry protests against the "venomous" ideas of Luther.  Henry's actions won him the title "Defender of the Faith". 
    By 1525, Henry's wife, Catherine of Aragon, had borne only one child, a girl named Mary.  This presented a problem for Henry, who wanted a male heir.  It was thought that a female monarch could weaken England politically, and he believed that Catherine would produce no male heir.  Henry decided to have the marriage annulled, or declared invalid based on church laws, so that he could marry again.
    The pope offered Henry several solutions to his problem but would not agree to the annulment because Catherine and her nephew, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, opposed to it.  The dilemma became known as the "king's great matter".  While Henry argued with the pope over his annulment, he fell in love with Anne Boleyn.  Henry soon took matters into his own hands.
    Henry summoned Parliament.  Known as the Reformation Parliament, the gathering led to a declaration that England no longer considered itself under the authority of the Pope.  Instead, Henry himself became the head of the Church of England.  He changed the rituals of the church very little, but Henry closed Catholic monasteries and convents and distributed much of the land to nobles. This helped build more public support for the split from the church.
    In 1533, Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII were secretly married.  Later that year, after Parliament had declared Henry's marriage to Catherine null and void, Anne gave birth to a girl, Elizabeth.  The next year, Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, which required subjects to take an oath declaring Henry VIII to be "Supreme Head of the Church of England".  The break with Rome was complete. (Ramirez, Stearns, and Wineburg, 2008)