Where has Tony Blair been lately?

At Mass and taking instruction from a priest, among other things.

The former prime minister will be received into his new church in a mass at the private chapel of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.

He has been guided by Fr John Walsh, a former RAF chaplain who celebrated mass at Chequers, and Fr Mark O’Toole, the cardinal’s secretary.

His path to Rome will come as no surprise because his wife Cherie and four children are Catholics and the family have worshipped together for years.

Mr Blair, in one of his final acts as prime minister, met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican when he told him of wish to leave the Church of England…

Mr Blair has rarely been seen in a church of the Anglican faith except on official occasions.

He decided to remain an Anglican because of the potential complexities of conversion while in office.

Some lawyers believe the 1829 Emancipation Act, which gave Roman Catholics full civil rights, may still prevent a Catholic from becoming prime minister.

Don’t they know?

Clauses in the Act state that no Catholic adviser to the monarch can hold civil or military office.

So they know, and not only believe it may say that?

Regardless….given the role of Catholicism in England up to Sir Thomas More’s esteemed chancellorship under Henry VIII….until the king decided he didn’t like the rules of the Church and made up new rules….it’s time to address these divisive issues and change them. Tony Blair’s move will certainly do the first of those two things.