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Pope Benedict XVI Touches Down In America
From the AFP:
Pope Benedict XVI arrived here Tuesday for a six-day visit during which he hopes to heal the wounds from a decades-long sex scandal which have disfigured the US Roman Catholic church.
US President George W. Bush prepared an unprecedented welcome for the 80-year-old pontiff, becoming the first US leader to greet a visiting head of state at the airport.
Tony Blair Converts to Catholicism
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has left the Church of England and converted to Catholicism, the faith of his wife and children.
Blair converted during a Mass Friday night at the private London chapel of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, the church said.
“I’m very glad to welcome Tony Blair into the Catholic Church,” Murphy-O’Connor said.
The church said Blair had been a regular worshipper at Mass with his family and in recent months had been following a program leading to his reception into the church.
Although he was an Anglican, Blair attended Catholic Masses at Westminster Cathedral, while on holiday in Italy, and with his wife Cherie at 10 Downing St.
The couple’s children have attended Catholic schools.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who is the spiritual leader of the world’s Anglicans, wished Blair the best in his spiritual journey.
“Tony Blair has my prayers and good wishes as he takes this step in his Christian pilgrimage. A great Catholic writer of the last century said that the only reason for moving from one Christian family to another was to deepen one’s relationship with God. I pray that this will be the result of Tony Blair’s decision in his personal life.”
Blair, who is now a Middle East peace envoy, met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in June, the month he stepped down as Britain’s prime minister.
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