Posted on 04/08/2009 7:36:35 AM PDT by Zakeet
Former premier Tony Blair said the Catholic Church needed to rethink its attitude towards homosexuality, as it is out of step with ordinary church-goers', in an interview published Wednesday.
Blair, who converted to Catholicism after leaving office in June 2007, cited a "huge generational difference" as the key to Pope Benedict XVI's opposition to homosexuality.
A poll of the congregation at a Catholic Church on a Sunday would reveal how liberal those in attendance were, he claimed.
"We need an attitude of mind where rethinking and the concept of evolving attitudes becomes part of the discipline with which you approach your religious faith," Blair told Attitude magazine, a publication targeted at gay people.
During Blair's premiership, Britain enacted legislation introducing civil partnerships, giving gay and lesbian couples legal recognition of their relationships, allowing them the same rights in areas like work, pensions and inheritance as heterosexual couples.
Asked about the pope's comments on homosexuality -- he has in the past suggested that it is as much of a threat to the survival of humanity as climate change -- Blair replied that "there is a huge generational difference here."
"And there?s probably that same fear amongst religious leaders that if you concede ground on an issue like this, because attitudes and thinking evolve over time, where does that end?
"You?d start having to rethink many, many things."
He added that if a Catholic congregation at a church on a Sunday were to be polled, "you'd be surprised at how liberal-minded people were."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Tony Blair thinks this man would be a lot more popular
if he would rethink his opposition to homosexuality.
Is that the Roman Catholic church or the CofE Catholic church?
I urge Tony to re-think his conversion to Catholicism
ML/NJ
The Catholic church should continue doing exactly what it is doing with the homo issue.
It hasn’t even been two years since he became a Catholic and already he is using his power and status to publicly force bible changes on them.
If he were a freeper I would be calling him out as a troll.
Sure Tony. And maybe God can be a bit more open minded reagrding your salvation? How about He rethinks it and says "...except Tony Blair."
Most interesting he coverted "after" leaving office.
No, Tony...ordinary church goers are out of step with God.
I can’t imagine why he converted.
Does it really matter? This is the way the big man-made organizations work. Time to head toward the real Church, Christ alone.
I'd urge Tony to complete his conversion to the Catholic Church. There's obviously at least one matter of moral theology on which he has not yet converted.
hmmmm, so was his conversion politically motivated?
I don't really think a Catholic could ever be Prime Minister of UK. Maybe he oughta work on re-thinking that first.
Of course. Since the Catholic Church isn't a man-made organization, though, we don't have that problem.
A poll of the congregation? Yeah, the Church has always operated as a democracy. Maybe we could vote off some Bishops or parts of the Bible, too.
Perhaps Tony can convert to Islam next and urge them to “rethink” a few things.
I have absolutely no idea what political gain he could have obtained by swimming the Tiber. I merely note that, whatever ceremonies he might have gone through, he’s still not out of the water.
Why did he join the Catholic Church in the firstplace? There are plenty of loser religions that don’t care what you do in life, he should have just joined one of them. Is he another Alinsky-esque interloper trying to destroy another institution?
This is typical of converts. I’m not saying converts are bad but many of them will attempt to change the church to something they just came from. You see this same thing when people move from the city to the country. They attempt to change the country to what they moved away from. The Catholic Church needs to continually try and convince people that what they want is not necessisarily the correct way to go for the Church in general.
If former PM Blair doesn't agree with what the Church teaches on sexuality, he needs to take it up with God, not the Church.
LOL he just converted and is already dispensing advice to Il Papa??
His wife is Catholic and he converted to her faith. This is what I read
IIRC, the Pope called Tony in for a personal talk before he would let him be received in Britain. I’m sure Blair promised to do all the right things, although the fact that the heirarchy in GB is very liberal and very opposed to the Pope probably gave Blair the upper hand. Unless the Pope made a major issue of it and specifically forbade it, they would clearly have received him in any case.
So I think an attempt was made to teach him and ensure that he accepted the Faith and the moral teachings of the Church, but obviously, it didn’t work. I haven’t heard any British bishops or cardinals trying to rein him in (although I think the new Archbishop of Westminster, when he’s finally installed, may be less liberal and more loyal to Rome than was his predecessor, the dread Cormac Murphy- O’Connor).
Why do people join churches and then decide they don’t like certain tenets of the church? Hey Tony, you knew their stance when you converted. That means you agreed to follow that stance when you joined. If you didn’t like it you shouldn’t have converted. Is that so hard to figure out?
Blair can say whatever he wants but he can’t force the Church to do anything.
If Blair acutally became a Catholics, he’s either a liar or he’s stupid. Why? because when you come into the Church, you are asked to make a profesison of faith and to state: “I believe all that the Catholic Church teaches.” The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual acts are gravely disordered and sinful. He either didn’t understand what he was bound to profess or he lied. To be Catholic is to be one in faith. We’re not a Church whose belief is determined by polls. We are a hierarchical Church and the bishops have the authority to teach the faith in union with the Bishop of Rome. If you wnat to set your own agenda, you’ll have to find some other group whose beliefs conform to your own. And...good luck.
I just read the article and I believe the headline is misleading. Blair seems to be explaining why the Church should NOT tailor its beliefs to the culture. His point that many people in the pews disagree with the Church does not to me seem like an endorsement of the views of the people in the pews.
An opinion contradicted by Scripture.
"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St. Jerome
Excommunicate all of the sinners and devil worshipers.
Cake or death?
Yes, they are totally different organizations, different leaders and different beliefs.
citing a “huge generational difference” as the key
Well, no problem then. Wait the old man out and in time everything will change under this theory.
But...don’t hold your breath, Mr. Blair.
Consider the possibility that your theory may not be true.
It's a generational thing, you know...
There was no constitutional bar preventing him from doing so, but it would have complicated matters re: Northern Ireland for example...
I was thinking, since muslims believe like catholic’s and are both opposed to homosexuality - how come he does not call for muslims to change their religion?
I believe because Tony Blair is a coward and not worth being a leader of anything.
Tony go back to the Anglican Church!!!! Your conversion is a FARCE!
Not really. This is more typical of poorly catechized cradle Catholics. Historically, most converts, particularly adults, have been the staunchest defenders of the faith. Blair's latest faux pas is another aberration and is indicative of how insincere his conversion was.
The Catholic Church is not opposed to homosexuality...it’s opposed to homosexual acts, which are outside marriage, which is defined sacramentally in Matthew as a union of one man and one woman.
"After all, guvna, ya gotta give a "likely lad" something ta look f'ward to during a dull Sunday mass..."
I wonder if Tony thinks GOD will rethink HIS position? Sheesh. CINO (Catholic in name only).
What I have seen is that some converts, the most vocal, will attempt to change the Church to what they want. As an example, in one Parish I was in, a family of converts had two daughters. They couldn’t understand why their daughters couldn’t be Alter Girls. The Pastor told them it was impossible and took all the flack from it. These were good people but didn’t understand the Church, at that time. They said that their daughters were allowed to serve in the last religion. I agree that they were, maybe, not taught, completely, what the Church was all about and how it operated. I ran into that quite a bit since I was Parish Council President. People didn’t continue their education. Education in the Church is not just teaching about the Catholic Religion, it’s studying Biblical History at the same time and understanding why certain things are done and who has authority over what principles.
Clinton made the same type of mistake with Pope over abortion, if I remember correctly.
I can’t imagine why he converted...
Because the Anglican Church is a SHAMBLES..
Hey Tony, you’ve been a Catholic only a matter of months. Now, you think you know how to change it? The church’s positions have been around for 2000 years.
You joined the church and knew its positions. Why not join a church that agrees with your positions rather than joining the Catholic Church and immediately trying to change theirs?
What a puffter.
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