Tony And The Pope

Of all the things I considered posting about, for some reason, this one grabbed more of my attention. The Tony of our title would be former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mr Blair now travels the world on behalf of the Tony Blair Faith  Foundation which seeks to promote understanding of the world’s main religions.

Mr Blair, who left the Church of England for Catholicism in 2007, recently had a private audience with the pontiff. He now sees fit to challenge the Pope’s “entrenched” ideas on homosexuality. Mr Blair believes that among religious people, attitudes towards the gay lifestyle are largely a generational thing. And he further concluded that the Pope is out of step with the public. He went on to say that religious figures everywhere should  reinterpret their religious texts as metaphorical, not literal. If this happened, then in time all gay people would be accepted as equals.

Amazing is it not. Mr Blair leaves his church only recently and now seeks to alter the thinking of the head of Catholicism and encourage, no urge us to treat our Bibles as metaphorical. This gentleman, who served some ten years as Britain’s PM has now, at least from his perspective, become he who can bridge the generational and doctrinal gaps of religions.

I found this comment on Mr Blair from conservative Catholic Bill Donohoe, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. Mr Donohoe wonders where about Mr Blair’s position on church teachings on sexuality in general, not just this particular aspect. He made an interesting comment which I will quote and leave open to the reader’s interpretation.

” Moreover, there is a big  difference between embracing someone who is a homosexual(no problem there) and embracing the gay lifestyle(big problem there) .

Interesting question indeed.

PS: Mr Blair would also like to become the President of the European Union (hmmm) .