The Observer reported today on the Cabinet split over gay rights. It seems that Ruth Kelly, who Blair, with a highly defined sense of irony, appointed as minister with responsibility for equality, has been doing the bidding of her masters in the Vatican.
Rabid fundamentalist Catholic Ruth is famously a member of shadowy Opus Dei, a sect within Catholicism that takes a very hard line view on people like gays.
New regulations to tackle discrimination in the provision of goods and services were due to come into effect this month.
Kelly has now delayed their implementation, giving the homophobes in the Catholic Church more time to bitch about the fact that they may be legally required to treat gay people the same as everyone else.
The Catholic Church is threatening to throw their toys out of the pram over gay rights, threatening to close down Catholic adoption agencies if they are forced to allow kids to be adopted by gay or lesbian couples.
Damn right. Don't want these kids going to a good home when there are gays around. As you know, no one poses a greater danger to kids than lesbians. Apart from possibly Catholic priests.
While Kelly's hardline position in defence of homophobia on religious grounds is to be expected, the split in the Cabinet is being caused by Tony "39 steps" Blair actually supporting his Communities Secretary.
Mrs Blair is also a strong believer in the fairy tales that constitute Catholic teaching. She is well known as a devout believer, and three of the Blair children attended Catholic schools. Good ones, obviously, not some local comprehensive for little Euan and Nicky.
So Blair, drifting and out of touch with the hard political realities, willing to be swayed by sentiment and his wife, has outraged Cabinet colleagues like Alan Johnson.
The official line is that because of the number of 'representations' about the new regulations, they will be postponed and reconsidered.
The Catholic Church has managed to argue that as it is intrinsically homophobic, it should be allowed to flout the law and the concept of equality. Hey, maybe I will start my own religion and make it explicitly racist and Islamophobic. Then I can claim as it is my religious belief that non white people are inferior, that I should have one of these exemptions.
Or perhaps the government should get some balls and tell the Catholic Church that if it really feels that strongly, we will take away the millions of pounds we pour into Catholic schools. The church is a service provider to the government in the fields of education and adoption. I would question whether that is a good situation for us or them.
Maybe the Catholic church should stop educating kids altogether and leave it to the professionals. To people who will not fill children full of fear, guilt and hatred for other people.
And perhaps now is the time for Tony Blair to go away and spend more time with his Bible.
