White outfit, wrong occasion, Cherie (Cherie Blair didn't wear black to meet the Pope)

Cherie Blair provoked surprise in the Vatican and the ire of a Roman Catholic MP yesterday by wearing all-white to meet the Pope, a privilege normally reserved for Catholic Queens.

The Vatican convention is that females meeting the Pontiff should wear black, preferably with a black veil, or mantilla.


	Cherie Blair with Pope Benedict

When the Queen met Pope John Paul II six years ago, she observed the code meticulously.

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, wore black, but omitted the veil.

By contrast, Mrs Blair, a staunch Catholic, chose to exercise the "privilege du blanc", usually granted only to the wives of Catholic monarchs.

Her breach of the protocol was surprising, since she has kept closely to the Church's dress code in the past.

Mrs Blair may not have worn a hat to the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales but she mourned the passing of John Paul II in a mantilla.

Technically, only three women should wear white in the presence of the Pope.

They are Queen Sofia of Spain, Queen Paola of Belgium and Josephine Charlotte, the wife of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg. Queen Sofia exercised her privilege in a meeting with the previous Pope in 2003.

Ann Widdecombe, the former Tory minister and a convert to Catholicism, was scathing about Mrs Blair.

"Even the Queen wore black to meet the Pope," she said. "This shows that she has a very grand idea of herself.

"She is a Catholic. She knows what the tradition is when meeting the Pope.

"She obviously thinks she is the first lady.

"My message to her is 'You are not a Catholic Queen, my dear, and you never will be.' "

Mrs Blair was in Rome for a Church-organised conference entitled "Vanishing Youth? Solidarity with Children and Young People in an Age of Turbulence".

She was invited as an expert and remained afterwards for a private meeting with the Pope. A spokesman for the Vatican declined to reveal what they had discussed.

I wonder who the idiot was who let her make this blunder.

1 posted on 04/29/2006 7:27:08 PM PDT by wagglebee

To: Salvation; Coleus; NYer; narses

2 posted on 04/29/2006 7:27:30 PM PDT by wagglebee ("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)

Picky, picky, picky.

I guess the new chaps and a clean duster wouldn't go over well there either.

4 posted on 04/29/2006 7:31:57 PM PDT by Coyoteman (Interim tagline: The UN 1967 Outer Space Treaty is bad for America and bad for humanity - DUMP IT!)

I think she did it herself. There has been massive speculation that Blair has secretly converted, maybe this is her way of letting the Pope know.

5 posted on 04/29/2006 7:33:19 PM PDT by Full Court (Philippians 3:2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.)

Everyone makes mistakes...

6 posted on 04/29/2006 7:33:35 PM PDT by operation clinton cleanup

A follower of Henry VIII.

7 posted on 04/29/2006 7:33:57 PM PDT by TaMoDee

Oh for crying out loud!

Even Jesus didn't tell His followers what colors to wear(at least it wasn't important enough to be recorded).As long as one dresses modestly ,that ought to be enough.Jesus was not about pomp and ceremony,and the Roman Catholic Church concerns itself too much with appearances and ceremony and too little with preaching the Gospel.

8 posted on 04/29/2006 7:34:16 PM PDT by hoosierham (Waddaya mean Freedom isn't free ?;will you take a creditcard?)

I feel quite confident the Pope did not care in the least.
He is not a petty man.

9 posted on 04/29/2006 7:34:28 PM PDT by Prokopton

Golly. Did it burn out il Papa's eyeballs?

I sorta like women in white, myself. And I still have 20/20 vision.

10 posted on 04/29/2006 7:35:08 PM PDT by Ole Okie

To: operation clinton cleanup

Man...I love that pic...classic Cheney.

He's what people call in Florida... a gitter done.

11 posted on 04/29/2006 7:36:17 PM PDT by I got the rope

"My message to her is 'You are not a Catholic Queen, my dear, and you never will be.' "

...So does that mean Andrew Sullivan's allowed to wear white if he ever gets an audience?

12 posted on 04/29/2006 7:36:48 PM PDT by RichInOC (...I'm going to hell, aren't I?)

There has been massive speculation that Blair has secretly converted, maybe this is her way of letting the Pope know.

IIRC, under British law, Blair cannot remain PM if he is not a member of the Church of England, but I may be wrong about that. I do know his children are Catholic and that a Catholic priest says mass for his family which he attends every week. It would not surprise me if he does convert. However, if his wife wanted to let the Holy Father know that he had converted, why not just tell him.

13 posted on 04/29/2006 7:37:05 PM PDT by wagglebee ("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)

Bump.. and agree with your comment!

14 posted on 04/29/2006 7:37:21 PM PDT by antceecee (Hey AG Gonzales! ENFORCE IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW!!!)

To: I got the rope

Best Vice President ever!

16 posted on 04/29/2006 7:39:44 PM PDT by operation clinton cleanup

This "blunder" needs to be in breaking. /not

17 posted on 04/29/2006 7:41:59 PM PDT by Drango (No electrons were harmed in this posting. Several however, were inconvenienced.)

Yeah.
And also why few will kneel before clerics, and why the clerics will not con troll mankind.

18 posted on 04/29/2006 7:41:59 PM PDT by sarasmom

Who needs it? Silly man-made affectations. I support most of the Catholic church's positions but meaningless foofarah like this is why I would probably never be one.

19 posted on 04/29/2006 7:42:12 PM PDT by Past Your Eyes (You knew the job was dangerous when you took it.)

He is not a petty man.

Apparently, he has surrounded himself with loads of them....

20 posted on 04/29/2006 7:42:59 PM PDT by Onelifetogive (* Sarcasm tag ALWAYS required. For some FReepers, sarcasm can NEVER be obvious enough.)

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