Pope Rebukes Blair, Speaks of "True Conversion"

Maybe we should count the Holy Father among those not convinced by Tony Blair's talk of converting to Catholicism:

The Pope spoke yesterday of the need for “true” conversions to Catholicism a day after rebuking Tony Blair over the war in Iraq and legislation passed during his years in power on abortion, gay adoption, same-sex marriage and stem-cell research.

The Vatican said that there had been a “frank exchange” on “delicate subjects” during Saturday’s meeting between Benedict XVI and Mr Blair, who is thought to be close to converting to Catholicism. Vatican sources said that the formula used was “the nearest the Vatican comes to referring to a row without using the word”.

Yesterday, as he addressed English-speaking pilgrims in St Peter’s Square, the Pope said: “Today, as the Church celebrates the birth of St John the Baptist, let us ask for the gift of true conversion and growth in holiness, so that our lives will prepare a way for the Lord and hasten the coming of His Kingdom.”

This could be read as a papal reminder of the need for those considering conversion — even a world figure like Mr Blair — to do so away from publicity.

The Pope wished Mr Blair well on his plans to work for Middle East peace and inter-faith dialogue. The two met privately for 25 minutes and then — in an unusual gesture — were joined by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster and head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

The Papal statement also referred to the Pope’s disappointment over Mr Blair’s failure to back the Vatican’s campaign to have a reference to Europe’s Christian roots and values inserted into the EU constitution.

(emphasis added)

My Comments:
Don't you love how all the media outlets are trying to make the Pope's criticism of Blair all about the Iraq War? Don't get me wrong: I realize that the Holy Father is not pleased with the initial decision to go into Iraq, nor with how things have gone since the invasion began.

But if Iraq were really the sum total of what was bugging the Holy Father, wouldn't the communiques coming from the Vatican following the Pope's meeting with President Bush last week have been equally, if not more, harsh? In fact, Pope Benedict, while sternly criticizing the President on Iraq, had strong words of praise for the President on his record of promoting a culture of life and defending the traditional family. (Instead, all the MSM had to focus on was the President's alleged faux pas in referring to the Pope as "sir".)

No, the Vatican doesn't seem chiefly concerned with Iraq where Tony Blair is concerned. Rather, the Pope seems to be taking issue with the incongruity of Blair's quite public intimations of a conversion to Catholicism while the Blair government has had such a horrendous record, both domestic and international, on matters of import to the Church. (In fact, I would guess that the Holy Father was expressing more concern with the new U.K. Sexual Orientation Regulations and their potential effect on the Church in Britain than he was about Iraq.)

See also the American Papist for the Pope's comments about miracles being "hard to come by in Britain" here and here.