Change forewarned, but recherche du temps?

Tony Blair's conversion to Roman Catholicism made the first item on the news over the weekend, but it does raise questions over how long he had planned to do this. From as long ago as 1994 even? Was he just waiting for the time when his political ambitions wee no longer in the way? And how sincere is that of expression of religious faith? It's no wonder that Rowan Williams wished Blair well on his 'spiritual journey' since it was the erstwhile PM who chose him; had Blair been RC at the time, many would have asked if his selection of Williams was Rome rule via the backdoor. I believe Blair chose Williams because he liked the latter's liberal sensibilities, but queries do hang over it.
Mind you, the BBC closed its ten o'clock Saturday news programme, talking of Blair's conversion that day while footage showed the current Quartet Middle East envoy in talks with the late Pope John Paul II - back from the dead! I know they are fast-tracking JP 2's sainthood, but this is ridiculous. It might have been wiser to show Blair in conversation with Pope Benedict XVI or even Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, the Vatican's representative in England (Dublin rule via the backdoor), but the BBC seems to have hit the Christmas pop early. All that weekend, the Beeb, both on the TV and FiveLive kept making footballing mistakes over who was playing whom and even results, strewn across the airwaves like used party poppers. One or two Beeb boobs would have been instantly forgotten, but a stream that would put any factory production line to shame provided a regular reminder not so much of Coleman's balls as incompetence balls. So what will they be like in the week between Christmas Day and New Year? On top of scything through the Isthmus of Kra, one dreads to think.