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"Take
Heed" Ministries
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Cecil Andrews, PO BOX 13, Ballynahinch, BT24 8AL, Northern Ireland. Telephone/Fax 028 9756 5511. E-MAIL - takeheed@aol.com WEBSITE - http://www.takeheed.net |
Tony Blair:
Whose ‘poodle’ is he now?
During his last years in office as
British Prime Minister, Tony Blair was often characterised in the media and by
the press as being President Bush’s ‘poodle’ because of his slavish
support of the American-led war against
On the BBC
website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2721513.stm
part of
the article there, dated
‘He did not
say so out loud - but Tony Blair wanted his backbenchers to believe he spent
last weekend once again using his influence on George Bush not to rush into
war….Some of his rebel backbenchers appeared to believe it and were reassured.
Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, amongst others, was not so sure…Mr
Kennedy, who likes to think he is speaking for the majority of the electorate
on this issue, was touching on the jibe which falls readily to so many lips. "Tony
Blair is no more than George Bush's poodle." It is a jibe that stings
the prime minister and which he is desperate to nail. But he is fighting an
uphill battle.
The opening lines of a Daily Mail article, dated 22nd
July 2006, on
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=397106&in_page_id=1770
read as follows
‘No one
knows for sure if George W. Bush regards Tony Blair as his poodle - but he
certainly addresses him as one. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the
President has greeted him with a cry of "Blair!" and told him:
"You’re my boy."
On a rather more irreverent website [http://www.endthiswar.org/bushpoodle.htm]
there
is a section devoted to ‘Bush’s poodle’ and it includes the following
under
‘Bush’s mean ole poodle’
BUSH'S Bush’
‘
Just hours after Tony Blair stood down as British Prime
Minister on
27th June 2007 the following was reported
on the BBC website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6244358.stm
‘Tony Blair is to become a Middle East envoy working on
behalf of the US, Russia, the UN and the EU. The announcement came just hours after he stood down as UK prime
minister and shortly before it was announced he was to quit as a member of
parliament…Mr Blair replaces the Quartet's previous envoy, former World Bank
president James Wolfensohn who last year resigned in frustration at the lack of
progress…Mr Blair's appointment comes at a time of heightened tension in the
region’.
As he
embarks on this daunting task of attempting to bring peace to the Middle East,
will Tony Blair bring fresh, unbiased thinking to this role? In the months that
have unfolded following his appointment the answer to that question has become
quite evident and it is – ‘No’.
It has become
crystal clear that Tony Blair is pursuing and promoting the aims and objectives
of The Vatican. Prior to his standing down as British Prime Minister it was
widely speculated that Tony Blair would, once he left office, convert to Roman
Catholicism, the faith of his wife, Cherie. Whilst in office he regularly
accompanied her to Mass and one of the last engagements he undertook, as Prime
Minister, was to visit Pope Benedict XVI in Rome. This is how the Roman Catholic
Zenit news agency reported his visit of 5th June 2007 – just 3
weeks before he resigned as prime
Minister
–
VATICAN
CITY, JUNE 5, 2006 (Zenit.org).
The role of religion, dialogue with Islam and aid to Africa were among the
issues addressed during Benedict XVI's audience with British Prime Minister
Tony Blair. The "cordial" meeting, as it was later described by
Vatican spokesman Joaquín Navarro Valls, was held Saturday morning in the
Pope's private library and lasted about 35 minutes. According to a note issued
by Navarro Valls, the principal subject of the meeting was "the role of religion
in politics and society." In particular, "attention was given to the
contribution that the shared values of religion can make to dialogue,
especially with moderate Islam, and above all in the areas of solidarity and peace,"
according to the Vatican statement. This was the first meeting between Blair,
an Anglican, and Benedict XVI since his election to the papacy. The prime
minister arrived in the Vatican accompanied by his wife Cherie and their
children. Cherie Blair, a Catholic, had been received in a private audience by
the Pope on April 28.
A report
in the Guardian [see http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/4-8-2005-68266.asp]
on the funeral of Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II stated – ‘The
prime minister, Tony Blair, arrived in the sun-filled square along with his
wife, Cherie. They were joined by the heads of state from more than 80
countries, including leaders as diverse as the US president, George Bush, and
the Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami. Prince Charles is attending the
funeral in place of the Queen’.
After
resigning as Prime Minister in June 2007 there was a brief ‘honeymoon period’
before predictions about an imminent conversion to Roman Catholicism once more
began to appear in print. On the AOL news section for Friday, 9th
November 2007 it was reported – ‘Tony Blair is to convert to Roman
Catholicism within weeks, it has been claimed. The former prime minister, whose
wife Cherie and four children are Catholic, has long been expected to join the
church after quitting Downing Street. According to The Tablet, a Catholic
magazine, he is to be received into the church shortly by Cardinal Cormac
Murphy-O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster’.
A similar
report also appeared in the Daily Mail of the same date but also
included ‘Tony Blair is preparing to convert to Roman Catholicism within
weeks…Mr Blair has received instruction from 2 priests, RAF chaplain, John
Walsh and Father Mark O’Toole, the cardinal’s secretary. A candidate for
reception into the Catholic Church is usually received by their parish priest.
The cardinal’s involvement, as Archbishop of Westminster, would suggest Mr
Blair’s process of conversion began while he was in Downing Street’.
In addition
to the priestly names mentioned, other ‘spiritual’ influences have also been
brought to bear upon Tony Blair. On 8th December 2007 the Irish
Times carried an article titled ‘The Converter’ and it began with
these words ‘If Tony Blair becomes a Catholic this month, he will be the
latest high-profile convert to have Father Michael Seed as his spiritual
adviser. Ben Quinn meets the “Scarlet Pimpernel” priest in Westminster
Cathedral’. Other extracts from the article read as follows –
‘While no serving British Prime Minister has ever been
a Catholic, the nearest thing was Blair’s attendance, with his Catholic wife
and children. At Masses said at Downing Street by Father Michael Seed. When
that highly symbolic conversion eventually takes place – and most commentators
think it will – the special role of the London-based priest with an Irish
connection [according to the article he was given up for adoption by a
16-year-old Irish girl, Marie, 6 months after his birth in Manchester in
1957…Father Seed later found himself living briefly in Cork while studying for
the priesthood] will be remembered along with that of a small coterie
of other clergy. “We call him the Scarlet Pimpernel” chuckles one of the nuns
who helps to run the beating heart of British Catholicism, Westminster Cathedral,
as I wait to meet the 50-year-old Franciscan friar and unofficial Catholic
chaplain to the House of Commons… The tag…is a world away from his role as
ecumenical adviser to the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy
O’Connor. Still, Father Seed’s “string of celebrity scalps”…is impressive. The
Conservative MPs John Gummer and Ann Widdecombe are among those he prepared to
become Catholics and he is reported to have converted the former MP, Alan Clark
[he of the infamous ‘Diaries’] on his deathbed…the
list of famous names who have contributed to his books…includes Hillary
Clinton, the Duchess of Kent [a Royal convert to Roman
Catholicism] Jilly Cooper, Sean Connery, John le Carre´ and the
Dalai Lama…Unsurprisingly Father Seed remains tight-lipped on the subject of
Blair…Father Seed laughs fondly as he recounts how [Ann]
Widdecombe was received into the church. “She is known as ‘the Popessa’ he says
affectionately. “When she became a Catholic she added things to the ceremony.
You are only meant to say one sentence…But Ann then went on to say more, such
as she believes in the Magisterium, the teachings of the Pope and all his
successors.’
Clearly
this Roman Catholic priest has been spectacularly successful in sowing ‘the
seeds’ of Roman Catholicism in the corridors of political power at Westminster.
The
predicted conversion of Tony Blair to Roman Catholicism officially occurred on
Friday evening, 21st December 2007. This was how the AOL news section
reported the event on Sunday 23rd December – ‘Tony Blair has
converted to Roman Catholicism, the former PM's official spokesman has
confirmed. Mr Blair was received into the Catholic Church by the Archbishop of
Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, in the chapel of the Archbishop's
House in Westminster on Friday night. Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said: "I am
very glad to welcome Tony Blair into the Catholic Church. "For a long time
he has been a regular worshipper at Mass with his family and in recent months
he has been following a programme of formation to prepare for his reception
into full communion." Monsignor Mark O'Toole, the cardinal's private
secretary, led Mr Blair through his period of spiritual preparation before
Friday night's ceremony. The cardinal added: "My prayers are with him, his
wife and family at this joyful moment in their journey of faith together."
The move comes after years of speculation that Mr Blair, whose wife Cherie and
four children are Catholic, would convert from Anglicanism after he resigned
from Number 10 in June’.
The Roman
Catholic Zenit new agency made a brief reference to Mr Blair’s
conversion on Monday 24th December 2007 -
Holy See Welcomes Blair's Decision to Convert
VATICAN CITY, DEC. 23, 2007 (Zenit.org).-
‘Tony Blair's decision to enter into full communion with the
Catholic Church has been welcomed "with respect" by the Holy See,
according to a Vatican spokesman. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi… This is
"good news that we welcome with respect," he said. "Catholics
are glad to welcome into their community those who, through a serious and
reflective journey, convert to Catholicism"… For his part, Archbishop
Rowan Williams, the leader of the Anglican Communion, to which Blair had
belonged, wished the convert every good in his spiritual journey.’
Having
‘slipped the lead’ of being known as ‘Bush’s poodle’ by resigning as
British Prime Minister Mr Blair appears now to have transferred his loyalties
to a new master.
No longer is he ‘the President’s
poodle’ – he appears to be content now to be ‘the Pope’s poodle’. On
what grounds do I affix this appellation to Mr Blair? The following are
extracts from an article by the Christian Post.
Blair
Holds Closed-Door Talks with
Religious
Leaders to Combat Extremism
By
Daniel Blake
Christian Post Correspondent
Monday 22nd October 2007
‘LONDON –
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has held closed meetings with a number
of religious leaders to lay down plans for an international interfaith
foundation designed to combat religious extremism. The foundation is being set
up with the hope that it will help ease tensions between the world’s major
religions and help them to overcome common misunderstandings and misconceptions
held against one another. Reports about the new initiative came as Blair
prepared to speak to some of America’s leading Roman Catholic bishops in New
York – an event that has reignited rumours of his impending conversion from
Anglicanism to Catholicism. “The tragedy is that Christians, Jews and
Muslims are all Abrahamic religions,” Blair has said. “We regard ourselves as
children of Abraham but we have fought for so long.” Blair's advisers have also
recently held talks with the office of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, head of
the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and representatives of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The Muslim Council of Britain has also given its full support to the
initiative.’
So,
in what was virtually his first public pronouncement following his appointment
as ‘a Middle East envoy working
on behalf of the US, Russia, the UN and the EU’ does Tony
Blair come up with some new and original thinking on the problems of the Middle
East – in a word - ‘no’. He has simply parroted the thinking of his new
spiritual masters housed in The Vatican.
Where did
this focus on the ‘Abrahamic faiths/religions’
first find expression in modern times? On the website of the BNET research
centre we find some very interesting information published ‘Winter 2003’
on this link
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2751/is_74/ai_112411725
‘The end is near. Before long, the
College of Cardinals will have to elect a successor to Pope John Paul II. His
will be a tough act to follow….Arguably, John Paul II has so far played a
pivotal role in preventing the current conflict between radical Islamists and
the West from degenerating into a global fracas between Islam and Christianity
more generally. One of his pontificate's accomplishments has been the
maintenance of relatively harmonious relations with most Muslim nations and
moderate Islamic thinkers without jeopardizing Israel's existence. This topic
merits a separate study; suffice it for now to point to a few remarkable
events…It was John Paul II who
introduced the concept of the "Abrahamic religions" as a family of
faiths, sometimes courting
the accusation that he blurred the uniqueness of Christ, truth incarnate.
However, all major Christian denominations acknowledge the presence of elements--if
not the fullness--of revealed truth in other religions, particularly in Islam.
The underlying principle here is the Christian dictum, "God never leaves
himself without witness", meaning in the present context that He has left
His traces in other faiths as well. How the next pope handles this issue can be of vast geopolitical
consequence.’
So,
credit for this expression is given to the late John Paul II and the writer
made reference to the importance of how his successor would deal with this issue.
Let’s see how Pope Benedict XVI has ‘handled this issue’.
In
December 2006 the current Pope made what turned out to be a rather
controversial 4-day visit to Turkey. On an Islamic Internet Newspaper called ‘Pakistan
Link’ the Editorial of 15 December 2006 that can be viewed on http://www.pakistanlink.com/Editor/12152006.htm
included the following -
‘The pontiff, who returned on Friday from a four-day visit to
Turkey that included an unscheduled stopover at Istanbul’s Blue Mosque,
discussed his trip during his weekly audience at the Vatican…The Pope described
his visit to the mosque as “a gesture that was not initially planned but that
turned out to have great significance. During a few minutes of reflection in
that place of worship I turned to the only God of Heaven and earth,” Benedict
said. “May all believers see themselves as his creatures and bear witness of
true brotherhood”… The Pope’s visit and observations should prompt the moderate-majority
among the Muslims and the Christians to be seized of their responsibility – to
be conscious of religious affinities and to shun age-old animosities… Viewed in
the same vein, the visit of the late Pope John Paul to the Ommayad Mosque in
Damascus on May 6, 2001, was an event of singular importance. He was the first
Pope to set foot on a mosque and his message on the momentous day was truly
befitting for the occasion. The Pope’s 2001 initiative could not have been
better timed and gave a boost to the inter-faith dialogue that had been
bringing Christians, Muslims and other believers closer, particularly in the
United States. Indeed, Islam,
Christianity, and Judaism are three Abrahamic religions whose followers have a
lot in common and they ought to work for
a common cause rather than be launched on a collision course.’
In the same article, some remarks of the President whose
‘poodle’ Tony Blair was labelled, George W Bush are also quoted – these remarks
were made at one of the ‘Iftar parties’ given for Muslim leaders in America to
mark the end of Ramadan
‘In one of
his Iftar parties address at the White House, President Bush rightly remarked:
“Islam is a religion that brings hope and comfort to more than a billion people
around the world. It has made brothers and sisters of every race. It has given
birth to a rich culture of learning and literature and science. Tonight we
honour the traditions of a great faith by hosting this Iftar at the White
House…We see in Islam a
religion that traces its origins back to God’s call on Abraham”… Muslims,
Christians, Jews and followers of other faiths, have to act in unison to arrest the current decline of civilization so as to make
the world a more liveable place.. Let’s be seized of our religious affinities
and spurn unwarranted animosities.’
This spurious common ‘Abrahamic’ identity
is being pushed in both secular and spiritual situations. The Pope and The
President are clearly ‘singing from the same hymn-sheet’ and both have a
willing ‘poodle’ in Tony Blair.
Faithful believers need to be alerted to the fact
that other so-called ‘evangelical’ leaders are following the same ‘sell-out’
line in an attempt to find common ‘faith-ground’ between the monotheistic
religions, in particular Islam and Christianity. In response to a letter issued in October 2007 by leading
Muslim clerics, so-called ‘evangelical’ Christians responded with their own
letter inviting ‘inter-faith dialogue’ on the common basis of ‘love for God and
love for neighbour’ – as if that were the central tenet of Christianity rather
than “repent and believe the gospel” [Mark
1:15].
This issue
has been aired by the Christian Post on this link –
The Christian
Post article starts with these words – ‘Christian
leaders across denominational lines responded to the unprecedented open letter
signed last month by 138 representative Muslim leaders with their own letter, calling
on the two Abrahamic faiths to love God and neighbours together.’
If you go to the link you will see that it
is possible to either post a comment or indicate with a ‘thumbs up’ or a
‘thumbs down’ your agreement or disagreement with comments already posted.
Bearing this in mind you might wish to pay special attention to a number of
comments by a certain ‘takeheed’ contributor.
I want to
draw special attention to a number of the so-called prominent ‘evangelicals’
who like Tony Blair are in effect part of the ‘presidential and papal pack of
poodles’ responsible for this ‘sell-out’ of the gospel in the name of ‘peace’
and ‘expediency’. They are Rick
Warren, Bill Hybels, Robert Schuller, Brian McLaren, Jim Wallis, David [Paul] Yonggi
Cho, Richard Mouw and very sadly John Stott.
The Apostle Paul never shunned any
opportunity to declare the uniqueness of Christ and His gospel, even when
entering into multi-faith situations such as those in Corinth - “I declared not to know any thing among you save Jesus
Christ and him crucified” [1st Corinthians 2:2] and in Athens - “Ye men
of Athens I perceive that in all things ye are very religious…God who made the
world and all things…dwelleth not in temples made with hands…now commandeth all
men everywhere to repent because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge
the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained concerning which
he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead”
[ Acts 17:22, 24, 30-31]. That is
the witness of a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ – an example to
follow!
The world of ‘professing Christianity’ is
in a very sad state – one only has to read the so-called ‘Christmas’ messages
of people like Pope Benedict XVI, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster,
Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor and the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury,
Rowan Williams to see that – no wonder there’s global warming when you add all
the ‘hot air’ these human prelates are emitting to the divine control of solar
activity.
The addition of Tony Blair to the ranks of
Roman Catholicism has increased by one the number of those making up the ‘papal
pack of poodles’ and many will view him as ‘the leader of the pack’ – perhaps I
can close with a scripture quote, taken somewhat out of context, but rather apt
in the circumstances – “Beware of
dogs, beware of evil workers” [Philippians 3:2]
Cecil
Andrews – Take Heed’ Ministries – 27 December 2007