Blair wants to unite world religions

Why does this story below spotted on the BBC website make me feel uneasy?
Read Father Elijah by Canadian Catholic novelist, Michael O'Brien. You might feel the same.


Former prime minister Tony Blair has promised to "spend the rest of my life" uniting the world's religions

He said faith could be a "civilising force in globalisation", bringing people together to solve problems such as malaria and extreme poverty.

Mr Blair, who is now a peace envoy to the Middle East, told Time magazine that religious belief had given him "strength" while in power.

He is launching a "faith foundation" in New York on Friday.

Mr Blair, who recently converted to Catholicism, said: "Faith is part of our future, and faith and the values it brings with it are an essential part of making globalisation work."

His foundation will attempt to bring religions together to tackle global issues such as the UN's eight Millennium Development Goals, which range from eradicating extreme poverty to ensuring environmental sustainability.

One of its first priorities will be to fight the spread of malaria.

Mr Blair said: "If you got churches and mosques and those of the Jewish faith working together to provide the bed nets that are necessary to eliminate malaria, what a fantastic thing that would be.

"That would show faith in action, it would show the importance of cooperation between faiths, and it would show what faith can do for progress."

He added that it was possible to "achieve a greater understanding between the different religious faiths, so that we make platforms for action by those faiths and deal with some of the biggest issues in the world".

Mr Blair's press secretary Alastair Campbell, when asked about his boss's faith, once famously remarked that the government didn't "do God".

But Mr Blair, 55, has recently spoken out on the subject far more than during his 10 years in Downing Street.

Discussing decisions he made as prime minister, he told Time: "You don't put a hotline up to God and get the answers.

"The worst thing in politics is when you're so scared of losing support that you don't do what you think is the right thing.

"What faith can do is not tell you what is right but give you the strength to do it."

Mr Blair is not being paid for his work as a Middle East envoy for the "Quartet" of the United Nations, United States, European Union and Russia.

But he has lucrative consultancy posts with insurer Zurich and merchant bank JP Morgan, on top of a reported £5m deal for his Downing Street memoirs.

My Catholic principles will self destruct after one reading

A friend tells me of a Catholic MP and minister who told her he will vote against the government for the second reading of its new embryology bill but will vote with the government at its final reading.

The MP did not tell her if this was part of Gordon Brown's deal to allow Catholics in the government to go against collective responsibility and the party line but you have to wonder.

So it seems our representatives can have their cake and eat it. No problem guys you can still be part of a government which is slowly but surely undermining much of the nation's Judaeo Christian heritage which has underpinned our moral life, social ecology and freedoms.

One day you won't be in government - you might be with the rest of us reaping the whirlwind.

Since when did your Catholic Faith become based on moveable principles?