The Recovering Choir Director

The Prime Minister received communion from the hands of the Pope during his recent visit to the Vatican, it has been reported from Rome.

Tony Blair, an Anglican, had an audience with Pope John Paul II on 22 February and attended mass with his wife and their three eldest children, all of whom are Roman Catholics.

A Jesuit liturgist from one of the Pontifical universities confirmed the story. It is said that the Vatican’s Secretariat of State granted a special dispensation for Mr Blair to receive communion on the grounds that there is no Anglican church for him to attend in the Vatican. There are, however, three Anglican places of worship in the centre of Rome.

The Revd Jonathan Boardman, Chaplain of All Saints’, an Anglican church in Rome, said on Wednesday: “It could be significant. This little stone could start an avalanche.

“The granting of dispensations becomes highly charged to those of us to whom they aren’t granted.” [Read on...]

I’m mulling how best to respond to this. In the meantime, care to share your thoughts?

Update: According to this report, Mr. Blair received a blessing, not Communion, from the Pope. So, are we to believe this story, or that of the Jesuit liturgist? [Link via Ad Orientem.]