Now what brought this on, I wonder.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/s … 61,00.html
(excerpt)
Speculation over Tony Blair's choice of faith strengthened last night after a priest who often says mass for the Blair family said the prime minister was seriously contemplating converting to Catholicism.
Fr Timothy Russ, of the Immaculate Heart of Mary church in Great Missenden, near Chequers, said he had discussed the matter of conversion with Mr Blair. But he stressed the decision was "a personal one, not a political one".
"I'd say normally speaking, if you have someone committed like him, then yes, he will become a Catholic," he said yesterday, but added that he could not see the prime minister joining the Catholic church in the near future.
"He didn't say to me, 'Can I become a Catholic?' What he said to me was, 'Can the prime minister be a Catholic?'"
Although he was raised as an Anglican, Mr Blair's fondness for Roman Catholicism is well known. His wife, Cherie, is a Catholic, as are his children.
Before he entered No 10, Mr Blair often attended mass by himself at Westminster Cathedral. He also used to worship in the Immaculate Heart of Mary before security concerns forced a rethink. Nowadays, Fr Russ is invited to Chequers to say mass in the drawing room.
Asked whether Mr Blair was ready to become a Catholic, Fr Russ said: "He's obviously got to change a lot and recognise the sanctity of the family and the sanctity of life."