Cherie Blair's Attacks On Catholic Teaching

The Scottish edition of today's 'Sunday Times' reports that the crystal-gazing human rights lawyer and prominent Catholic Cherie Blair has attacked Catholic teaching on contraception as not being in the interests of women who pursue careers (as a career non-careerist, I hope they eventually catch one). When brewed with lawyerly glibness, arrogance is toxic; Mrs. Blair's remark that '(i)f you look at the birth rates in France and Italy and Spain it seems that I might not be the only devout Catholic who likes to control her fertility' indicates that hers is lethal.

One had always thought being devout was not unlike being patriotic or entrepreneurial, a honour that should be bestowed upon you by others, and inappropriate to claim for yourself; but Mrs. Blair is obviously so achingly hip that she's in danger of needing a hip replacement, and need not concern herself with such conventions.

Membership of a corporate body requires adherence to its rules. Most corporate bodies' members possess enough self-discipline to adhere to the rules without prompting. However, if they will not impose discipline upon themselves then the body to which they belong must be able to impose discipline upon them.

In this regard, there is no difference between the Catholic Church and the Inns of Court. If Mrs. Blair is really interested in shaking things up and making a difference, such as reform of the laws on contempt of court, she could walk into the Old Bailey tomorrow and commit an act which could be considered contempt, get herself imprisoned for a couple of years and come to be hailed as a prisoner of conscience. But such an act would of necessity demand that she put herself at personal risk.

Not merely proclaiming your lack of self-discipline in being unable to follow the Church's teachings but actively flaunting your disregard for them, and stating your preference for the juvenile, hoary, barnacled gender nationalism of your youth called 'feminism', seems to indicate a lack of self-discipline which borders on being narcissistic.