Free-D

In a country where there are said to be more Muslims than practising Anglicans, and where Catholicism is even set to overtake Anglicanism as the most popular de-nomination, it seems rather surprising that Tony Blair’s imminent conversion to Catholic faith should attract such widespread interest. But as so often, history defies logic…

On British coins – still resisting the Euro – you’ll see the Latin inscription ELIZABETH II DG REG FD, which is an abbreviation of DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSOR, or “Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith”. Clearly, a strong declaration of the Queen’s authority over the Church… as in the Anglican Church – the Church of England (not even Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland get a look-in). Well, not quite… Actually, ironically, the title Defender of the Faith was bestowed onto the English monarchy by none other than Pope Leo X, when Henry VIII wrote his Assertio Septem Sacramentorum in defence of the sacramental nature of marriage and the supremacy of the pope against the heresy of people like Martin Luther. Of course, then Henry decided to ditch his wife Queen Catherine of Aragon in favour of six-fingered Anne Boleyn and the sacrament of marriage didn’t seem so important after all. It was probably the most influential divorce in history and, despite a few momentary blips, it ensured that the Catholic faith was dropped as the official religion of the realm. It could also be argued that this was the beginning of Britain’s underlying distrust of the European continent which manifests itself in the side of the road we drive on and the maintenance of our coinage. And if Blair had declared himself a Catholic while in office there would certainly be many on the more extreme fringes of Protestantism who would have found it totally unacceptable. On the other hand, many of his more liberal policies – abortion, stem-cell research, same sex union and adoption – are an anathema to Catholics. Actually, come to think of it, he’s pretty much an anathema to many Muslims too, given his policies in Iraq, which makes his appointment as Palestine-Israel peacemaker rather surprising to say the least. 

Mixing politics and religion is a confusing affair leading to strange, unnatural alliances and dangerous manipulations and hypocrisy. When an Irish contingent sat in the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca in 1936, their General Eoin Duffy drunk as a lord in the Gran Hotel, it was not to fight for Republicanism but to protect the Catholic church from the evil atrocities perpetrated by Communists and Anarchists. Most of these “Blueshirts” (clearly emanating Franco’s Blackshirts, at least in theory) were good Catholic farmers, outraged by sensationalist news reports at home. It might be stretching the point a little, but they were probably not that dissimilar to the modern Jihadists who joined the training camps in Afghanistan. Perhaps Tony Blair felt that politics is emotional enough without bringing religion into it as well.