Christian comments on Blair's conversion...
My devout German Protestant friend Christian Runkel comments on Blair's conversion to Catholicism upon my request. Thanks Christian and of course any sensible comments are welcome...
What does it mean to take a step from the Anglican to the Catholic Church? From my distant point of view (German Protestant) the difference between the Catholic and the Anglican Church might look as a simple matter of Henry VIII and his wish to get a divorce. When the Pope in 1534 denied him this the English King made himself head of the Church and kept that position through a long line of successors until today. Other than my own tradition that proudly looks on our “real” Church Reformation from 1517 the English Reformation might be seen as an only half-hearted step from Catholic Middle-ages to Protestant Modern Times. From the even more distant point of view of most of my esteemed readers (Turkish Muslims I guess), the whole move might even look completely unnecessary – why split a Church to get a divorce? And why take a step from medieval to modern ideas when Allah is the same all the time?
But even if one does not get to the core of the differences there might be a chance for a Muslim look into a Christian heart, Tony Blair’s heart. First of all his step is a very personal thing, a matter of personal history, of friendships and relations. Blair had Catholic friends and mentors in his youth that encouraged him to have some bigger aims for his life. These aims were both spiritual and political, a combination often found in the life of man and women that later become famous.
Secondly, he married a Catholic woman, Irish origin, member of a nation that was thought to be inferior to the British for long periods in history. In my imagination his love for the member of a lower ethnical class made him sensitive for the virtues of that class – after all we should not forget he started as a socialist, and socialists claim to be sensitive.
During his time as Prime Minister he did a lot of things that the Catholics certainly disliked. His policies on abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research etc. were all against the teachings of the Catholic Church. His decision to wage war with Saddam was criticized by Pope John Paul II. So the rumours may be right that the official Church received him only after some harsh words of rebuke.
Why did he nevertheless ask them to let him in? My guess is that he went back to the days of his calling and remembered that his mentors once promised him he could win both: a high public office and closeness to God. And my guess is that he found closeness to God only in the old Church that 2000 years ago was personally founded by what Christians think was God in Person, Jesus Christ.
