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Blair to convert?
22/06/2007 12:33 - (SA)
London - Britain's Protestant Prime Minister Tony Blair has decided to convert to Roman Catholicism, newspapers said on Friday, as he prepares to meet with Pope Benedict XVI before he leaves office next week.
Informed sources quoted by The Guardian newspaper said Blair has already taken his decision, and it was now just a matter of when he will announce it, though he will not do so during his visit with the pope on Saturday.
There has long been speculation that Blair, a worshipper in the Protestant Church of England, will convert to Catholicism.
His wife Cherie is a devout Catholic and Blair attends mass at Chequers, the prime minister's country home outside London, with her and their four children. He also took part in a private service at the Vatican during one trip to Rome.
But Blair has said he has no plans to convert, and only attends services so the family can worship together.
The Guardian's sources said Blair was prepared for his conversion by a Royal Air Force chaplain, Father John Walsh, who for the past four years has been visiting Chequers quietly to give mass for the family on Saturday evenings.
The conversion could take place before or after Blair leaves office on June 27, the date he hands over to finance minister Gordon Brown, they said.
The Daily Telegraph, quoting church sources and friends of the prime minister, said Blair is planning to announce that he will convert to Roman Catholicism soon after he meets the pope.
The daily said it understands that Blair intends to begin formal preparations as soon as possible after the handover of power.
"It is clear to many people that this is now going to happen," it quoted a source as saying.
There has never been a Catholic prime minister in Britain, although there is no longer a constitutional barrier, the newspaper said.
However, the Telegraph suggested Blair may have been reluctant to convert during his 10-year tenure of office for fear of a potential conflict with his role in appointing Anglican bishops.
He may have also been wary of doing so while playing a key mediating role in the Northern Ireland peace process between the province's Catholic and Protestant communities.
Downing Street revealed the plans for a final visit to Benedict XVI in the Vatican last month. Vatican sources have said the visit would take place on Saturday.
- AFP
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