More on Cherie Blair appointment

Checking through my email today, I find that I have received many links to further information which indicates that it would be inappropriate for Cherie Blair to be appointed as an advisor to the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences.

I am aware that Cherie Blair is a practising Catholic and that Tony may have a lot of good will towards the Catholic Church. My purpose in posting this information is not to destroy the reputation of Cherie Blair - the information I am posting is already in the public domain. I believe that it is important for the good of the Church that those who are seen as authoritative figures in the public square should not be appointed to represent the Church if their personal beliefs are at odds with those of the Church.

This photograph, shows Mrs Blair at the Family Planning Association stalll at the Labour Party Conference cheefully showing a condom to the camera. We must wonder what this gesture indicates. There is no lack of public comment.

For example, we find in the Telegraph that a source connected with the Lust for Life campaign said "I think that even they were a little surprised to get a devout Catholic promoting condoms so enthusiastically,"

An article in Hello Magazine said:
Cherie also revealed that, despite being a practising Catholic, she was at odds with the Catholic church’s stance on birth control. In response to the question: “For the sake of the fight against world poverty, should the church change its teaching on birth control,” the premier’s wife answered with an unequivocal, “Yes”.

Saying her beliefs rested on “faith, hope and love” she added: “As a Catholic I am proud of the social mission of the church and its concerns for the poor and dispossessed, but I still personally would support women priests.”
Another article in the Telegraph Get rid of sexism, Cherie tells Pope indicates her dissatisfaction with the Roman Curia:
Cherie Blair last night called for half the posts in the Vatican to be filled by women and criticised the Roman Catholic Church's record on human rights.
It would seem strange for Cherie Blair to be appointed as an advisor in a Vatican dicastery while she has a fundamental disagreement with the Vatican itself and disagrees publicly with the Church's teaching on contraception. It could be argued that the press coverage of Cherie's position on these questions amounts to nothing more than "rumour" in the press. In which case, could we not legitimately expect a clear statement from Cherie accepting the Church's teaching before she is appointed to such a high profile post?

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