So, all roads lead to Rome and it seems that former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has decided that the Roman Catholic path is the one for him.
No one should be surprised. His wife and four children are all Catholics - and practising ones at that. Tony was the odd one out.
Hmmmm. Alastair Campbell, the man who REALLY ran Britain, once said, "We don't do God" and, possibly, as a result, Tony was not out and proud with his Catholic credentials.
But now, since he is no longer in a place where he can be put on the spot about the role that God plays in his life, Tony is finally converting. Allegedly!
The Mistress is frustrated; as a Catholic, she can't see how such a war-mad politician can get away with it (and be accepted) but hey, anything goes, it seems, with today's Church.
According to The Daily Telegraph of three years ago //www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10/15/ncath15.xml, a Catholic CAN be Prime Minister (just in case you thought, like Royalty, that it wasn't allowed):
"Although Britain has never had a Catholic prime minister, there is no constitutional bar to Mr Blair converting while in Downing Street. However, constitutional historians have said that such a development could prove awkward and could affect the relationship between Church and State. As Prime Minister, Mr Blair makes recommendations to the Queen on the appointment of Church of England bishops. Church spokesmen insisted, however, that this was a State rather than religious duty, and the Prime Minister's religious affiliations need not be a difficulty."
In the same article, we get glimpse of Blair's thinking:
"Fr Russ, the parish priest of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in nearby Missenden, Berks, told a newspaper that Mr Blair had raised the issue of conversion over lunch.
"When he asked me, it was in the abstract," the priest said. "It wasn't, 'Can I become a Catholic?' but, 'Can the Prime Minister of Britain be a Catholic?' He said Mr Blair would be "freer to consider the matter" after he had left office. "But even if he resigns or whatever, I doubt he has the 'necessary' to join the Catholic Church.
"It is always a work of grace," said Fr Russ.
"He would probably have a lot going for him, but he also has to change a lot."
Hmmmm. A leopard can't change his spots and I doubt Blair has changed that much.
Personally, I judge the measure of a man by his dog. Blair is dog-less. That, to my mind, says it all. Even the Pope had a pet (cat).
Woof Woof
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