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.”
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.”
Another jumping from a sinking ship. Will the old ditherer take notice?
Well, Iit’s good for him, I suppose. However, while his soul’s health is a matter for his confessor; his political actions are a public matter. Since he publically supported the murder of unborn children and the promotion of sexual deviancy as prime minister, one might hope that his profession of Faith eventually include a public renunciation of his past political stands
# 2: very true but too much to hope for. A good career move anyway, for one aspiring to be President of Europe.
Breaking news: Pope seeks asylum.
And, before Blair departed, he left behind his personal stealth bomb, Rowan Williams, to destroy the once vaunted Anglican Communion.
I’ll pray that Archbishop Williams will ponder taking any step in his spiritual journey.
A round-up of Catholic commentary by the always helpful [url=http://amywelborn.wordpress.com/2007/12/22/blair-becomes-rc/#comments]Amy Welborn[/url]
Anne Widdecombe’s question is one which occurs to me: Here is a man who has directed public policy in the UK in at least two areas (abortion and gay rights, particularly in adoption cases) in a way which went contrary to Roman Catholic teaching. Now he is received into the Roman church. So, how has that happened?
Is he now going to recant his anti-catholic policies while PM?
Or can it all be just left behind quietly?
I am afraid this stirs up a lot of probably irrational anti-Roman prejudice for me and I would really find it helpful if someone more sympathetic to Roman Catholicism can explain it. Because to me it looks as though, if they can get a big enough ‘scalp’ (and they don’t come much bigger), inconvenient questions about the convert’s former life can be overlooked.
[blockquote]Is he now going to recant his anti-catholic policies while PM?[/blockquote]
Your question is dead-on. The man was pro-choice and anti-family creating an unbelievably environment hostile to Christians. Hmmm!!!
Notice that the Kennedy Family (and John Kerry) for that matter are members in Good Standing in the RC Church. As far as I know, only three bishops told them that they would be refused communion if they came to a church in that bishop’s Diocese. (Burke of St. Louis, Bruskuwitz of Lincoln Nebraska, and in the Case of Teddy K., Bishop Loverde of Arlington, VA).
A classic hormonal convert, like many men. Blair and his wife are no more Roman Catholic than I am. But this case should give pause to any liberal who thinks a church can survive on principle alone. The amazing truth is that people will leave for personal reasons to join churches whose beliefs fit them less – and to heck with integrity.
UK is Catholic Country, RCC is the biggest Christian denomination, it is booming with Latin Americans and Polish(1.000.000 polish), Slovaks and others.
Go to Westminster Abbey, and you are charged an admission fee, to see a museum. Go to Westminster Cathedral and I’m told you see a house of prayer with people actually there to pray and worship. I’m not sure I blame him, whatever his reason.
AC – I think some of the RC cathedrals in Europe also charge admission. Can anyone verifiy for sure? Thx.
AC,
You do not have to pay an entrance fee to WORSHIP at Westminster Abbey. If you are there just for a tour, there is an entrance charge. The same goes for St. Pauls. If you go as a tourist, you pay admission. If you go to Worship, you don’t but you can place an offering in the plate (GRIN)
# 13: not in my experience – Notre Dame, St Peter’s, Barcelona cathedral etc have all been free admission. We did pay of course to see the immense Vatican art galleries, incl. the Sistine Chapel, & worth every euro.
Westminster RC Cathedral, BTW, is quite a beautiful place, with Byzantine-style mosaics.
# 7 – what I’ve opined a number of times. The Conservative MP Anne Widdecombe is also a convert to Catholicism (her brother is an evangelical clergyman) but she has always been pro-life and against institutionalizing homosexuality. Blair, OTOH, was pretty much surrounded by gays in his public life, incl. several cabinet ministers and his closest ally, Peter Mandelson, now a European Union Commissioner appointed by Blair to be one of the masters of Europe.
Blair’s deranged wife (think: Hillary’s twin but unelectable) has long taken up the cudgels in court for lesbian partner benefits and the right of crazy schoolgirls to wear burqas. Yep, a real pair of Catholic lites.
Abortion & homosexuality aside (& that’s a BIG aside), Blair will be remembered as one of the most sleaziest politicians in recent UK history.
7 – Blair’s past life is of little consequence – think for example of St. Paul. What does matter is whether he has had a genuine change of heart on key issues. I am inclined to give him the chance to explain himself before leaping to judgement.
#16 I’m not criticising Tony Blair’s past life – or his present one, for that matter.
My question is about the integrity of the RC church.
If you are a big celebrity whose conversion can be placarded publicly, does that mean that you are allowed into the RC with no questions asked because you are useful to the cause – even if you have used your considerable power and influence to push through legislation which is clean contrary to RC teaching?
Maybe Tony Blair has had a Damascus Road conversion like St Paul. But the Damascus church encouraged Paul go public on his change of heart and how he had previously been wrong about things.
TB kept quiet about his faith before his conversion. It’s looks as though he’s going to keep quiet about his pre-conversion use of power now he has converted. Less trouble that way. He gets the church he wants and the church gets the big name they want.
Or am I just getting cynical? Can someone put all this in a better light for me?
# 17: From what I’ve observed of the British scene, I woud say you have to say that just as Bill Clinton is serially sincere, Blair comes across as serially honest. Unless he is an out & out hypocrite & is angling for some heft in Europe (e.g. President in waiting), it apperas he cannot make the connection between his past actions & himself – he just ‘moves on’, confident in his own (self) righteousness.
I too hope Mr. Blair will eventually publically renounce his previous public positions with regard to abortion and homosexuality. It would be a great witness to the power of Christ. However, whatever his past sins in this or any other area of his life are, they are a matter between he and his confessor. His silence is sufficient. Welcome home, Tony.
19 – Well said. I hope also that the TEC bishops will eventually publically renounce their current public positions on abortion and homosexuality. Imagine the witness to the power of Christ that would be!
William S –
It isn’t just celebrity that gets one a pass on various issues. I could tell you tales of which I have personal knowledge, were to do so not gossip. The fact is that “quality control” in the Catholic Church is almost non-existent. My own priest, as orthodox and outspoken as they come, pretty much tells RCIA people what they need to do (clear up a marital situation, usually), then leave it alone after that. If they clear up the situation, they do, if they don’t they don’t. One thinks of the Ethiopian eunuch. How much consideration of his political life was made before he was baptized?
The fantasy of a Church ready to lower the boom on every sin and sinner is pretty much exactly that – a fantasy. I’m a convert, so this tends to drive me nuts – if I didn’t believe this stuff, I would have stayed Episcopalian – but there it is: the Church, like the Father, is ready to think the best of people, forgive, and work around things all she can: just tell the truth and let the Holy Spirit work in the people’s lives. Here is a comment from Amy Welborn’s site that says it well:
[i]when I converted back in the 80’s, in California, I was fairly liberal in my views of abortion and never considered it an ‘issue’. However as I took my conversion seriously, the Holy Spirit over time conformed my mind and heart ,as He still does, to see my misjudgement of true Catholic Christian Justice…the protection of the unborn. Let us pray for our brother Tony, he may yet become a new voice in the world in protecting those most innocent.[/i]
All of this said, I am concerned (as I said in the first comment) that Tony Blair’s public political stands warrant a public confession of Faith. Still, there are a variety of ways to deal with this (see Fr. Neuhaus’ [i]The Catholic Moment[/i]) without making huge assumptions about Tony Blair’s soul or about the Catholic Church. You yourself said:
[i]I am afraid this stirs up a lot of probably irrational anti-Roman prejudice for me and I would really find it helpful if someone more sympathetic to Roman Catholicism can explain it.[/i]
“Irrational” is the operant word here, although “sub-rational” might be a better term. Perhaps you will want to ask yourself how good that is for your own soul; but am I then intruding on your relationship with God in perhaps the same way as we are wanting to intrude on Tony Blair’s?
I have no interest in explaining or justifying all of this, sympathetic as I am to Roman Catholicism. As I said in the first comment above, the public stands Blair has taken demand a public profession of Faith. Personally, I find Ted Kennedy a far greater scandal then the much-discussed sexual misbehavior of a relatively few priests. In fact, it’s another manifestation of the same problem, and more insidious because the murder of unborn babies is a more pervasive public problem than sexual offenses. But none of that impinges on my basic Faith, since I expect the Church of Jesus to have human failings in it’s members. It’s always been that way and always will be.
Anyway, I don’t have all the facts on Tony Blair’s conversion, nor do I know what may happen in the future, so I sure better be careful in my judgments at this moment in time.