According to the Daily Mail, Tony Blair is thinking of converting to Roman Catholicism when he leaves Downing Street. All well and good, if that’s what he wants, but a particular part of the Daily Mail story caught my attention. According to the story, Blair discussed with a local priest the possibility of him (Blair) becoming a deacon:
Mr Blair is reported as asking his confidant Father Timothy: “Would this be possible?” He was told: “It usually takes two or three years”, to which he replied: “The fact that I’m PM, could this make a difference?”
Interesting, if true. The Bible sets out the qualifications for becoming a deacon, and as far as I could remember, being the Prime Minister of Great Britain (or any other country, for that matter) was not among the criteria deemed by God to be necessary for this great office. Just to be sure, I looked up the relevant passage in the Bible, 1 Timothy 3: 8-12:
- 8. Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain,
- 9. but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.
- 10. These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.
- 11. Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.
- 12. Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households.
So there we are, being PM does not count for anything. As to the relevant criteria, though, it is for the Roman Catholic church to judge, whether, knowing what we do of Blair, he has satisfied the above conditions.
June 10th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
remembering the plot of the film “the saint” starring val kilmer, i suspect that tony decided to set his sights a little lower. At least to begin with…
June 10th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
I’m not even sure he could qualify as a Catholic.
June 10th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Your previous two posters have got it all wrong. Thanks to Theo spark, I have linked to this post with a photo of Tony Blair as the Pope…
June 11th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
[…] a Catholic? Filed under: Blair, Catholicism, Politics — notsaussure @ 7:26 pm Via Bel is thinking, the news from the Daily Mail that Tony Blair is, apparently, hoping to convert to Roman […]
June 11th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Didn’t King Saul get in trouble for offering sacrifices when Samuel was delayed?
I’m fascinated by the fact that, compared to our own House of Representatives, the House of Commons seems to be lacking in decorum. Can you imagine a church in which Blair was the deacon, and the parishoners were carrying on like the average backbencher?
June 12th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Tony must have been reading “Private Eye” too often!
June 13th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
best blogger - well done!
June 14th, 2007 at 8:07 am
Congratulations, Bel!
So glad you stormed Best Political Blogger!
A thoroughly deserved accolade!
June 14th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Cam over to say congratulations, Bel. - Well deserved.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
CU, Crushed, and Welshcakes, thank you very much for your kind words. I’m thrilled to have won.
June 27th, 2007 at 12:57 am
Hi Bel,
First visit here. I came over from DBT.
I’ve been out of the UK for nearly 6 months now, so I haven’t much of an idea of what’s going on. This is definately intriguing, if what you say about Blair is true. I always thought he made decisions with a Roman Catholic mind, rather than a Protestant, and I figured this was due to being influenced greatly by his wife.
June 27th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Hi Armen,
welcome to my blog.I recognised your name from DBT. You wrote something that I liked on the Lorelle interview post.
What you say is very interesting, about Blair and a Roman Catholic mind. A few RC friends of mine have said the same thing.
August 1st, 2007 at 9:25 pm
[…] know – I’d be more me, more … more Tony. I mean, WMD aside (I was lied to, too), I was infuckingfallible in just about everything else. So […]