Doug
On Dec 22, 2007, at 12:56 PM, Rick Kisséll wrote:
>
>
>
> Tony Blair joins Catholic Church
>
>
>
> Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has left the
> Anglican Church to become a Roman Catholic.
>
>
> His wife and children are already Catholic and there had been
> speculation he would convert after leaving office.
>
>
> Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, who led
> the service to welcome Mr Blair, said he was "very glad" to do so.
>
>
> But ex-Tory minister Ann Widdecombe - herself a Catholic convert -
> said Mr Blair's voting record as an MP had often "gone against
> church teaching".
>
>
> Last year, Mr Blair, who is now a Middle East
> peace envoy, said he had prayed to God when deciding whether or not
> to send UK troops into Iraq.
>
>
> And one of Mr Blair's final official trips while prime minister
> was a visit to the Vatican in June where he met Pope Benedict XVI.
>
>
> 'Regular worshipper'
>
>
> Mr Blair was received into full communion
> with the Catholic Church during Mass at Archbishop's House,
> Westminster, on Friday.
>
>
>
> Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, who is the head of Catholics in England
> and Wales, said: "I am very glad to welcome Tony Blair into the
> Catholic Church.
>
>
> "For a long time he has been a regular worshipper at Mass with his
> family and in recent months he has been following a programme of
> formation to prepare for his reception into full communion.
>
>
> "My prayers are with him, his wife and
> family at this joyful moment in their journey of faith together."
>
>
> Chief Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi
> said the Catholic church in Rome shared Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor's
> "satisfaction".
>
>
> "The choice of joining the Catholic church made by such an
> authoritative personality can only arouse joy and respect," Fr
> Lombardi added.
>
>
> BBC correspondent David Willey said it had been no secret in Rome
> that Mr Blair had been taking instruction from a Catholic priest as
> a prelude to conversion.
>
>
> He added that the Pope was informed of Mr Blair's intentions prior
> to his visit to the Vatican in June 2007, shortly before he left
> office.
>
>
> The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, leader of the
> Anglican church, wished the former prime minister well in his
> spiritual journey.
>
>
> He said: "Tony Blair has my prayers and
> good wishes as he takes this step in his Christian pilgrimage."
>
>
> Northern Ireland
>
>
>
> Downing Street confirmed the prime minister had converted, but
> said it was a private matter and it would not comment further.
>
>
> But the former Conservative government minister, Ann Widdicombe,
> who became a Catholic in 1993, told the BBC Mr Blair's move raised
> some questions.
>
>
> "If you look at Tony Blair's voting record in the House of
> Commons, he's gone against Church teaching on more than one
> occasion. On things, for example, like abortion," she said.
>
>
> "My question would be, 'has he changed his
> mind on that?'"
>
>
> But Mr Blair's biographer, Anthony Seldon, said the former prime
> minister's faith had always been a major influence on his politics.
>
>
> Mr Seldon said: "He's a profoundly religious figure. Religion
> brought him into politics in the first place, not reading Labour
> Party history.
>
>
> "Catholicism has been the religion of his wife - Cherie Blair has
> been incredibly important to him throughout his political life,
> encouraging him to go into politics and adopting many of his
> positions, so I think it was the obvious part of the Christian
> faith for him to come into."
>
>
> Northern Ireland
>
>
> There has never been a Roman Catholic
> prime minister of Britain, although there is no constitutional
> barrier to such a move.
>
>
> However, it had in the past been suggested that Mr Blair would
> wait until after leaving office, to avoid possible clashes such as
> over his role in appointing Church of England bishops.
>
>
> Catherine Pepinster, editor of Catholic magazine The Tablet, said
> the news was not quite the same as if Mr Blair had changed Churches
> while still prime minister.
>
>
> "I understand that one of the issues he was concerned with,
> because he was so closely involved in negotiations over peace in
> Northern Ireland, that perhaps some people there might have been
> uncomfortable with the prime minister converting to Catholicism at
> such a time.
>
>
> "This situation is different. Although he remains a public figure
> now, and clearly has a role to play in the Middle East, it isn't
> perhaps quite the same."
>
>
> 'Nutter' fear
>
>
> Mr Blair's ex-spokesman, Alastair Campbell, once famously told
> reporters "We don't do God". But reacting to news of Mr Blair's
> conversion, Mr Campbell said: "I can't say it surprises me at all.
> His faith does matter an awful lot to him.
>
>
> "It's something I suspect he probably felt
> he couldn't do when he was prime minister and he's done it now."
>
>
> Mr Blair last year told ITV1 chat show
> host Michael Parkinson he had prayed while deciding whether to send
> troops into Iraq.
>
>
> "In the end, there is a judgement that, I think if you have faith
> about these things, you realise that judgement is made by other
> people... and if you believe in God, it's made by God as well," he
> said.
>
>
> And earlier this year, he told the BBC that he had avoided talking
> about his religious views while in office for fear of being
> labelled "a nutter".
>
>
> The news of his conversion comes as a document showed Mr Blair had
> raised "concern" over ongoing business negotiations in a letter
> about an investigation into a Saudi arms deal.
>
>
> Days later the probe was dropped, and Mr Blair said the decision
> to stop it was taken because of national security, and was not
> linked to commercial interests.
>
>
>
> Story from BBC NEWS:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/7157409.stm
>
>
> Published: 2007/12/22 17:06:14 GMT
>
>
> © BBC MMVII
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