ローマ法王: 奇蹟s hard to come by in Britain

Tony Blair's 熱望して を待つd 会合 with the ローマ法王 resulted in 不快 for the 総理大臣 when he 設立する himself on the receiving end of a 厳しい lecture over his 記録，記録的な／記録する in office.

During a 25-minute 直面する-to-直面する audience in the Pontiff's 私的な apartments, ローマ法王 Benedict XVI 取り組むd Mr Blair on the continuing 危機 in Iraq and the Middle East.

Italian news 機関 報告（する）／憶測s said ローマ法王 Benedict also made direct 批評 of New 労働 法律s 許すing greater 茎・取り除く 独房 研究 on human embryos, 平易な 接近 to abortion, same-sex marriages, and 採択 by gay couples.

負かす／撃墜するing Street 公式の／役人s said the 問題／発行する of gay 採択 arose between Mr Blair and 上級の Vatican 人物／姿／数字s, not the ローマ法王. But it was にもかかわらず an 予期しない turn of events for Mr Blair, whose visit to the Vatican - his final foreign 約束／交戦 as 首相 - had been 広範囲にわたって believed to presage his 転換 to Catholicism.

摩擦 even seemed to 現れる as the ローマ法王 and 総理大臣 appeared in public for the cameras. Mr Blair, joined by his wife Cherie, 現在のd Benedict with a でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れるd 始める，決める of three antique pictures of 枢機けい／主要な Newman, who 変えるd in 1845 after more than 20 years in the Church of England clergy and is now a 候補者 for sainthood.

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

To which the ローマ法王 答える／応じるd: "Yes, yes, although it is taking some time - 奇蹟s are hard to come by in Britain."

The gift was seen as a 高度に 重要な 指示，表示する物 of Mr Blair's wish to 変える to the カトリック教徒 約束.

After the 会合, the ローマ法王's office 問題／発行するd a 堅固に worded 声明, 説 the two men had a 'frank discussion on the 国際情勢, in particular the delicate que stion of the Middle East 衝突'.

The actual 言い回し of the 公式発表 含む／封じ込めるd the Italian phrase 'franco confronto', literally translated as 'frank 対決' - inflammatory language seen as 高度に unusual in Rome.

The 声明 continued: "At the end, after an 交流 of opinions on several 法律s recently passed by 議会 in Britain, he wished the Honourable Anthony Blair best wishes with regard to the fact he is leaving his position as 総理大臣."

It then commended Mr Blair's 'vivid 願望（する） to 伴う／関わる himself in particular for peace in the Middle East and for の間の-宗教的な 対話'.

But the 声明 was seen as 示すing the Vatican's continuing unease with the Iraq 衝突, and also 最近の 国内の 法律制定 in Britain. In the language of 外交の communiqu?s, 'frank discussion' is customarily seen as code for an argument.

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

以前, 会合s with world leaders 含むing 大統領 Bush have been 述べるd as 'warm and cordial', にもかかわらず the Vatican's 対立 to many of his 政策s and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

負かす／撃墜するing Street later talked ーに関して／ーの点でs of a 'successful 会合'. A 広報担当者 確認するd: "私的な discussions 含むd the Middle East."

A 上級の カトリック教徒 source 強調d the importance of the 会合 to Mr Blair, and pointed to the symbolism of the 総理大臣's choice of gift.

One 上級の カトリック教徒 Church source said: "We are not talking about gifts of a walking stick and box of chocolates - this is a 高度に 重要な 現在の to give the 宗教上の Father.

"This audience was always going to be a very 重要な one with a lot of 強調 on the personal 面 and this gift of photographs of 枢機けい／主要な Newman is a （疑いを）晴らす 指示，表示する物 of the 総理大臣's path to 転換. It could not be more 明確に spelt out."

Yesterday's audience in the library of the papal apartments was the third 会合 bet ween ローマ法王 Benedict and Mr Blair. They first met in 2005 at the funeral of ローマ法王 John Paul II and they then met last June.

For the 最新の visit, Mr Blair was …を伴ってd by Cherie - their daughter Kathryn was also part of the 公式の／役人 側近 but did not …に出席する 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 公式の／役人 側近 also 含むd Britain's 外交官／大使 to the 宗教上の See, Francis Campbell, and Lady Carla Powell, who is the sister-in-法律 of Mr Blair's 長，指導者- of-staff Jonathan.

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

The 側近 also 含むd French 億万長者 実業家 Bernard Arnault, who is 長，指導者 of 高級な-goods 会社／堅い LVMH and a friend of the Blairs.

意味ありげに, the party in 新規加入 含むd the leader of the Roman カトリック教徒 Church in England and むちの跡s, 枢機けい／主要な Cormac Murphy O"Connor.

At the end of Mr Blair's audience with the ローマ法王, 枢機けい／主要な Murphy O"Connor was 招待するd in and the three had a ten-minute discussion.

Father Georg Ganswein, the ローマ法王's personal 長官, said they had a '会合 of six 注目する，もくろむs' - a 重要な Italian phrase which means 深く，強烈に personal and 私的な.

A 上級の Vatican source 追加するd: "The fact that 枢機けい／主要な Cormac was 招待するd in at the end is 高度に unusual.

"It is not customary at all for church 人物／姿／数字s from the 招待するd party's home nation to be 現在の at an audience."

Again this was seen as a 調印する that Mr Blair was looking for the カトリック教徒 Church's 是認 of his 未来 path - which, 同様に as 転換, 含むs setting up an interfaith 宗教的な 創立／基礎.

Mr Blair hopes that this will play a 役割 in 仲買人ing peace in the 危機-torn Middle East.

Although the 公式の／役人 communiqu? made no について言及する of Mr Blair's 転換, Italia n news 報告（する）／憶測s said it had been discussed.

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

Four years ago when Mr Blair met ローマ法王 John Paul II just before the 突発／発生 of the war in Iraq, he was given a 厳しい ticking-off by the late ポーランドの（人） pontiff.