Thursday, April 03, 2008

Tony Blair: Seek Faith, Not War

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has called for faith to be given a central role in tackling the world's problems.

Mr Blair said faith should be rescued from extremism and be a force for progress, in his first speech on faith since becoming a Catholic.

He said politicians found it difficult to talk about faith because they "may be considered weird".

His speech was accompanied by a noisy anti-war protest and silent vigil by Catholic peace group Pax Christi.

Mr. Blair, who converted to Catholicism months after stepping down as prime minister last summer and is now a Middle East envoy, told an audience of 1,600 at Westminster Cathedral he was often asked if faith was important to his politics.

"If you are someone 'of faith' it is the focal point of belief in your life. There is no conceivable way that it wouldn't affect your politics," he said.

Read the rest of the story here…

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