Posted on 05/17/2007 6:24:57 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
TONY Blair is set to become a Roman Catholic when he quits as Prime Minister, it was claimed last night.
Father Michael Steed — who holds regular services in Downing Street — is said to have revealed Mr Blair’s plans to friends at a recent memorial service.
Although the Premier is an Anglican, his wife Cherie and his four children are Catholics. Last night the priest, who has helped several prominent politicians and aristocrats to convert, refused to deny the rumours.
Fr Steed said: “Mr Blair’s been going to Mass every Sunday.
“He goes on his own when he is abroad, not just when he is with his wife and children.”
But the priest added he did not know whether Mr Blair will be “formally” received into the Catholic church.
If the PM were to become a Roman Catholic, then he would have to take part in a ceremony called the rite of Christian initiation for adults, be confirmed and also take Holy Communion.
A Downing Street spokeswoman last night said they were unaware of the rumours. She said: “This story is always circulating in one form or another. The PM remains a member of the Church of England.”
Mr Blair has announced he will stand down as Prime Minister on June 27.
But the PM has always been reluctant to talk about his religious beliefs.
His former communications chief Alastair Campbell once said: “We don’t do God.”
My mother converted to Catholicism when she was 76. She had gone to mass with our family all the time we were growing up and helped us learn the Baltimore Catechism and sent us to parochial schools. So when I asked Father Tony whether she could just quiz out of the Catechuminate, he agreed. She simply said the creed, some chrism and Communion. She didn’t even understand that much fuss since it was such a natural transition and I think she did it mainly so I would take her to Church every Sunday. She was in the hospital once and a priest came in to see her. He asked whether she wanted to make a confession and she said, “sure” but was confused when I left... “oh, you can stay.” I left anyway. When she was in hospice her hospice volunteer was a nun who had taught me Latin in hs 30 years earlier. They became great friends. Sister Raymond used to light her cigarettes for her.
Catholic when convenient.
**refused to deny the rumours.**
Hmmmm.
It has been rumored for at least a couple of years that Blair had already converted.
What a nice story. The green fields of heaven are hers. And Sister’s, too.
Hello AAM, how are you doing?
This is a great story!!!
Hope you're feeling better?
Blair probably felt like he couldn't publicly convert while PM . . . that would be a bit of a scandal among older Britons (as far as I know the Royal Marriage Act is still in force, and there's got to be some bleed-over effect).
He’s finally crossing the Tiber... we’ve been praying for him. May the Lord keep him close.
Yep.
My Great Grandfather converted (actually reverted, baptized Catholic) late in life. He had to wait for his wife to die because she was no fan of the Church. His first wife who he had all the kids with was Catholic so all of his kids and grandkids were Catholic.
On the day my Mom was being confirmed the Priest said “We have a few adults to be confirmed also” and he got up and walked by the whole family to be confirmed.....hadn’t told anyone until that exact moment.
If he isn’t going to change his views on the sanctity of life, he shouldn’t bother. He might be the only person in the world who could convert and be spiritually excommunicated on the same day.
Really? Why not?
Your mother sounds wonderful...my husband was a Catholic convert, and said that it felt like “coming home.”
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=35403
This brings us to the second theory on why Blair has not yet become a Catholic. Technically there is no ban on a Catholic becoming a prime minister but there is still a provision in British law that makes it a “high misdemeanour” or criminal offense for a Catholic prime minister to advise the monarch on appointments to the Church of England. Catholics were barred from sitting in both the House of Lords and House of Commons from 1678 until the passage of the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829. Since that time there has never been a Catholic prime minister.
In recent years there have been several unsuccessful attempts to repeal anti-Catholic legislation. For instance the 1701 Act of Settlement enshrines anti-Catholic sentiment into British law. It prohibits a British monarch or possible heir to the throne from marrying a Catholic. The act was introduced at a time of widespread persecution of Catholics. But the law’s anti-Catholic provisions were enforced as recently as 1988 when the Duke of Kent’s son married a baptized but non-practicing Catholic and was forced to renounce his right of succession. The late Cardinal Thomas Winning, the former Archbishop of Glasgow, branded the act as “an embarrassing anachronism for both the royal family and the British Parliament.” He called for a change in the law to enable Catholics to play an equal role in the life of the nation. In December 2000, the Guardian newspaper called for the law to be axed, insisting that it violated article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which upholds the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.
Christopher Graffius agrees that anti-Catholic sentiment in British law is “repugnant” and “inappropriate” for the modern age. He argues: “Our laws say something about the standards by which we live. There is still a provision in English law that any Catholic who advises the Monarch should be banned from public office for life. Catholicism is the only religion to be singled out in this way.”
By law, he could not be Catholic and Prime Minister.
Thank you both for the historical background.
We should be thankful he’s not converting to Islam.
Well said. One can only hope that receiving the holy Spirit will soften his heart. We should pray for him.
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