What Did You Expect, Mr. Blair?

I grew to admire Tony Blair during his time as Prime Minister of Great Britain. After 9/11, Blair set aside his political differences with George W. Bush and forged an alliance that put the world on notice that terrorism would meet stiff resistance. It's also widely reported the two men grew to like each other personally.

Not surprising since Blair seems like an affable fellow. During his time in office, I enjoyed tuning into C-SPAN each week to watch the Wednesday ritual in Parliament known as Prime Minister's Questions. Blair was a master at turning away the wrath of opposition members with a calm response and a smile.

But I was perplexed to read comments Blair made during an interview with a gay magazine taking the Pope to task for the Catholic Church's stance on homosexuality. The church holds the biblical view that homosexual practice is a sin. But Blair, a Catholic himself, says, "We need an attitude of mind where rethinking and the concept of evolving attitudes becomes part of the discipline with which you approach your religious faith." That's Blair's nice way of saying the Pope and the Catholic Church are wrong.

It would be one thing if Blair was a life-long Catholic, but only recently did he switch his religious affiliation from the Church of England to Rome. Is he now somehow surprised that his new church holds what he believes are outdated views? I liken it to a Democrat switching parties and immediately criticizing Republicans for opposing tax increases. What did you expect, Mr. Blair?