Posted on 06/13/2008 6:38:38 AM PDT by camerakid400
George W Bush and Pope Benedict XVI have held an intimate meeting in Rome as rumours mounted in Italy that the president may follow in Tony Blair's footsteps and convert to Catholicism.
The two men spoke for half an hour in the 12th century Tower of St John, a private area in the Vatican gardens which is used by the pope for private reflection.
The usual protocol for heads-of-state is a meeting in the pope's library in the Apostolic Palace, but a spokesman for the Vatican said Benedict wanted to reward Mr Bush for the "warmth" of his reception at the White House earlier this year.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Lovely post, Starwise! Fr. Morris told the Friends about this today...he was sooooooooooooooo excited. I do hope it’s true.
It’s certainly possible, but this article gives no particular reason in support of the idea.
Bush and Blair are two very different kettles of fish. Blair’s conversion was rumored for years. And his wife was already a Catholic. But, strangely, Blair supports abortion and homosexual activism, most unusual in a convert to the Church, since as the saying goes, converts are usually more Catholic than the Pope. Blair is apparently a cafeteria Catholic, and what his reasons were for converting are hard to say.
Bush is genuinely pro-life. I think it’s fair to say that he seems to have the Evangelical spirit, as well, and that his conversion experience was a turning from his drinking problem, among other things. The question I’ve always had with that is how you can be an Evangelical and square that with the very liberal doings of today’s Methodist church. You would need an unusual pastor and an unusual congregation, and I think such are becoming increasingly rarer in Methodist circles.
So, I don’t think the comparison to Blair makes much sense. Blair was Bush’s uncomfortable partner in the Iraq war, but otherwise was always more at home with his old friend Bill Clinton. Bush I think is, or tries to be, a real Christian of the old school.
Jeb’s a Catholic
The Catholic Church is not altogether devoid of squishiness either! E.g., regarding capital punishment and illegal immigration.
Reading the headline I began to wonder how hard a time Bush was going to have since his powers of persuasion have fallen to an all-time low but then I realized it was Bush himself who was still in a state of self-adjustment and not the infallible one...
Some interesting names on the list of Catholic converts:
John Wayne, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, and Bob Hope.
Absolutely fabulous post, Starwise. Just wonderful.
Thanks for the post, camerakid400!
LOL
(((tol)))
I would think that the President would want a library in Texas. Do you think that he might talk to a Catholic college or university?
Thank you, STARWISE!
What a lovely post!
Cheers,
sl
It is if he doesnt know the Bible.
How interesting! Thank you for the ping, dearest sister in Christ!
“this is not likely”
He’s already reserved a place. Within 3 months of leaving office.
Let's see...a man who is despised and vilified by the liberal "secular" elites because of the stands he has taken on morality and the unborn that are based on natural law. Also, believes deeply in Jesus Christ as his Savior, and is not ashamed to pray at any moment. He thanks God for his victory over alcoholism. He has surrounded himself in the White House with a bunch of Catholic advisers, and has named two men to the Supreme Court who are Catholic.
Sounds like he'd make a very good Papist to me, but what do I know?
((((((((sl)))))))))
The President might!!
Thanks, I had never heard of that.
Who is John Ellis?
Nevermind, I never realized Jeb was a nickname.
Hi, xzins. Could it be because many Methodists have liberal leanings?
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