Pope: Miracles hard to come by in Britain

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Tony Blair's eagerly awaited meeting with the Pope resulted in discomfort for the Prime Minister when he found himself on the receiving end of a stern lecture over his record in office.

During a 25-minute face-to-face audience in the Pontiff's private apartments, Pope Benedict XVI tackled Mr Blair on the continuing crisis in Iraq and the Middle East.

Italian news agency reports said Pope Benedict also made direct criticism of New Labour laws allowing greater stem cell research on human embryos, easy access to abortion, same-sex marriages, and adoption by gay couples.

When in Rome: The pope is not impressed with Tony's lax laws

Downing Street officials said the issue of gay adoption arose between Mr Blair and senior Vatican figures, not the Pope. But it was nevertheless an unexpected turn of events for Mr Blair, whose visit to the Vatican - his final foreign engagement as Premier - had been widely believed to presage his conversion to Catholicism.

Friction even seemed to emerge as the Pope and Prime Minister appeared in public for the cameras. Mr Blair, joined by his wife Cherie, presented Benedict with a framed set of three antique pictures of Cardinal Newman, who converted in 1845 after more than 20 years in the Church of England clergy and is now a candidate for sainthood.

Mrs Blair said: "I believe you are very familiar with him and he is on the journey to sainthood."

To which the Pope responded: "Yes, yes, although it is taking some time - miracles are hard to come by in Britain."

The gift was seen as a highly significant indication of Mr Blair's wish to convert to the Catholic faith.

After the meeting, the Pope's office issued a strongly worded statement, saying the two men had a 'frank discussion on the international situation, in particular the delicate question of the Middle East conflict'.

The actual wording of the communique contained the Italian phrase 'franco confronto', literally translated as 'frank confrontation' - inflammatory language seen as highly unusual in Rome.

The statement continued: "At the end, after an exchange of opinions on several laws recently passed by Parliament in Britain, he wished the Honourable Anthony Blair best wishes with regard to the fact he is leaving his position as Prime Minister."

It then commended Mr Blair's 'vivid desire to involve himself in particular for peace in the Middle East and for inter-religious dialogue'.

But the statement was seen as indicating the Vatican's continuing unease with the Iraq conflict, and also recent domestic legislation in Britain. In the language of diplomatic communiquÇs, 'frank discussion' is customarily seen as code for an argument.

The statement was all the more surprising because the Vatican always uses carefully controlled language.

Previously, meetings with world leaders including President Bush have been described as 'warm and cordial', despite the Vatican's opposition to many of his policies and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Downing Street later talked in terms of a 'successful meeting'. A spokesman confirmed: "Private discussions included the Middle East."

A senior Catholic source emphasised the importance of the meeting to Mr Blair, and pointed to the symbolism of the Prime Minister's choice of gift.

One senior Catholic Church source said: "We are not talking about gifts of a walking stick and box of chocolates - this is a highly significant present to give the Holy Father.

"This audience was always going to be a very significant one with a lot of emphasis on the personal aspect and this gift of photographs of Cardinal Newman is a clear indication of the Prime Minister's path to conversion. It could not be more clearly spelt out."

Yesterday's audience in the library of the papal apartments was the third meeting between Pope Benedict and Mr Blair. They first met in 2005 at the funeral of Pope John Paul II and they then met last June.

For the latest visit, Mr Blair was accompanied by Cherie - their daughter Kathryn was also part of the official entourage but did not attend the audience.

Mr Blair flew to Rome straight from Brussels and landed just after 9.30am yesterday at Ciampino airport. He was then driven to Vatican City, where he met Cherie.

The official entourage also included Britain's ambassador to the Holy See, Francis Campbell, and Lady Carla Powell, who is the sister-in-law of Mr Blair's chief- of-staff Jonathan.

She has hosted the Blairs - and Tory Party leader David Cameron - at her country home on the outskirts of Rome. Cherie had spent the night there after arriving late on Friday.

The entourage also included French billionaire businessman Bernard Arnault, who is chief of luxury-goods firm LVMH and a friend of the Blairs.

Significantly, the party in addition included the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O"Connor.

At the end of Mr Blair's audience with the Pope, Cardinal Murphy O"Connor was invited in and the three had a ten-minute discussion.

Father Georg Ganswein, the Pope's personal secretary, said they had a 'meeting of six eyes' - a significant Italian phrase which means deeply personal and private.

A senior Vatican source added: "The fact that Cardinal Cormac was invited in at the end is highly unusual.

"It is not customary at all for church figures from the invited party's home nation to be present at an audience."

Again this was seen as a sign that Mr Blair was looking for the Catholic Church's approval of his future path - which, as well as conversion, includes setting up an interfaith religious foundation.

Mr Blair hopes that this will play a role in brokering peace in the crisis-torn Middle East.

Although the official communiquÇ made no mention of Mr Blair's conversion, Italian news reports said it had been discussed.

A Vatican source told The Mail on Sunday last night: "I am not going to comment on conversion but you can see for yourself from the signs and the gift."

Four years ago when Mr Blair met Pope John Paul II just before the outbreak of the war in Iraq, he was given a stern ticking-off by the late Polish pontiff.

 

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