NPR: Reports: Blair Plans to Become Catholic

Reports: Blair Plans to Become Catholic

British newspapers report that Tony Blair, the outgoing prime minister, has decided to become a Catholic and will travel this weekend to Rome to meet with the pope, where he may discuss his final preparations, according to sources in London and Rome.

The Guardian reports that Blair's decision could be officially announced either before or after he leaves office next week.

Blair's wife and four children are Catholics, and he has attended Catholic services for almost 30 years. Because of security concerns, Catholic Mass also has been held on Saturday evenings at Chequers, the prime minister's country residence.

Britain has never had a Catholic prime minister. This is almost surely the reason that his conversion has taken so long, The Daily Telegraph reports. Although there is no constitutional bar to the prime minister of the overwhelmingly Anglican nation being Catholic, it could have compromised the role Blair played in choosing Church of England bishops.

Religion also plays a much smaller role in Britain's political life than it does in the U.S. In one famous incident, The Guardian reports, Blair "dropped his wish to end a prime ministerial broadcast on the eve of the Iraq invasion with the words: 'God bless' on the advice of Alastair Campbell [his PR guru], who famously told him 'We don't do God.' "

10:23 AM ET | 06-22-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

If only our American politicians "didn't do God," either! Ours won't feed the poor, but they will worry about gays marrying in Ohio.

Sent by Don Dunham | 1:48 PM ET | 06-22-2007

One nice thing about being Babtized "after" one's political career, one is absolved in the eyes of the Church, of all high crimes and misdemeanors. President Bush ought to become a Catholic at the end of his term in 2009. I've also noticed that at the end of addressing the public Bush doesn't usually say God Bless America anymore now that everyone knows he is a crook. Talk about high crimes and misdemeanors. . . .

Sent by Geri Britt | 2:08 PM ET | 06-23-2007

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