"Among some Catholics in Britain, there have been questions about how Mr. Blair, who has described himself as an “ecumenical Christian,” could meet the standards normally set for converts.
“St. Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus would pale into insignificance by comparison,” John Smeaton, director of Britain’s Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said in an interview published earlier this month in The Spectator, a weekly journal popular among conservatives. “We need to hear a full repudiation from him. Without one, having Blair as a Catholic is like having a vegetarian in a meat-eating club. It simply does not make sense.”
Not a very welcoming lot, it seems:"Aides have said he delayed his formal conversion until after leaving office to avoid making his religious beliefs a political issue, and because of the risk of stirring controversy over his role, as prime minister, in appointing Anglican bishops.
"Mr. Blair also faced concerns within the Catholic hierarchy in London and Rome, centering on policies adopted by his government during his 10 years in power that drew fierce criticism from the conservative hierarchy of the church. Among these were the Blair government’s support for stem cell research, gay adoptions and the legalization of gay civil unions, as well as its resistance to toughening Britain’s abortion laws.
"n 1996, the year before Mr. Blair became prime minister, Cardinal Basil Hume, then the head of the Catholic Church in Britain, wrote to Mr. Blair asking him to stop taking communion at a Catholic church in the London district of Islington, near his home."
It will be interesting to see if, in fact, some or all of Blair's political views on social issues were, well, just an act. Finding out will shed new light on what "New Labour" means.
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