Blair received into Catholic Church in private Mass at cardinal's home

CARDINAL Keith O'Brien, the Archbishop of Edinburgh, last night welcomed Tony Blair, the former prime minister, into the Roman Catholic Church.

Mr Blair made the long- predicted conversion at a special service on Friday conducted by the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, and his private secretary, Monsignor Mark O'Toole.

Mr Blair joins his wife Cherie and four children in the Roman Catholic faith.

Cardinal O'Brien told The Scotsman: "I was very happy to hear that Tony Blair had been received into the Catholic Church.

"He had obviously spent a long time considering God's call. Now I join with others in wishing him and his family every blessing as they go forward together in one faith."

Following the special Mass at the archbishop's house in Westminster, attended by Mrs Blair and their children, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor – the leading Roman Catholic in England and Wales – said the service was "very intimate, very prayerful". The Vatican has also welcomed Mr Blair's decision to become a Catholic.

It comes as research suggests Catholic churchgoers now outnumber Anglicans in the UK for the first time in 500 years.

A Vatican spokesman said such an "authoritative personality" choosing to join the Catholic Church "could only give rise to joy and respect".

Last year, Mr Blair, who is now a Middle East peace envoy, said he had prayed to God when deciding whether or not to send UK troops into Iraq.

It had been an open secret that Mr Blair had been taking instruction from a Catholic priest as a prelude to conversion.

Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, wished the former prime minister well in his spiritual journey.

Dr Williams said: "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."

But the former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe – herself a Catholic convert – said Mr Blair's voting record as an MP had often "gone against Church teaching" and that his conversion raised some questions.

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) reacted with surprise to the news of Mr Blair's conversion.

John Smeaton, its national director, said: "During his premiership Tony Blair became one of the world's most significant architects of the culture of death, promoting abortion, experimentation on unborn embryos, including cloned embryos, and euthanasia by neglect.

"SPUC is writing to Tony Blair to ask him whether he has repented of the anti-life positions he has so openly advocated throughout his political career."

There has never been a Roman Catholic prime minister of Britain, although there is no constitutional barrier to such a move.

However, it had been suggested in the past that Mr Blair would wait until after leaving office, to avoid possible clashes such as that of the role in appointing Church of England bishops.

A RELIGIOUS OFFICE

TONY Blair's formal conversion appears to have taken a number of months and it is thought his decision followed a period of contemplation rather than a "falling out" with the Church of England over an issue such as the ordination of women priests.

The move comes after years of speculation that Mr Blair would convert from Anglicanism after he resigned from No 10 in June.

Converting while in office would have caused him problems in connection with issues such as abortion, contraception, homosexuality and faith schools.

Mr Blair's former spokesman, Alastair Campbell, once famously told reporters "We don't do God", but has since said that his former boss "does do God in quite a big way".

Even while in office, Mr Blair attended Catholic services with his family, but did not participate fully.