cross to bear

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Cross to Bear

Britain's Daily Telegraph, in a commentary on the case, revealed that it has learned that British Airways is to "review" its ban on staff wearing the cross.

Ms. Eweida said she was standing up for her faith
(picture from BBC website)

"Presumably this means that the airline has bowed to the inevitable," the commentary went on. "Miss Nadia Eweida, a check-in worker, should soon be able to return to her place behind the Heathrow counter, wearing on her necklace a cross roughly the size of a five-pence coin.

"It has proved an expensive piece of jewellery for BA. On Monday, Miss Eweida, a devout Christian, lost her appeal to wear her cross over her uniform. The row had been simmering for two months, but it was this bizarre ruling that persuaded around 100 MPs to protest on her behalf. On the following day, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, flew to Rome business class on BA without saying a word on the subject. Fortunately, Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, was more forthright: the airline's policy - which allows members of other faiths to wear religious symbols - was 'nonsense', he thundered.

"His words struck a chord with Christians around the world, who are facing growing persecution for their faith. Yesterday - finally - Dr Williams put pressure on BA. We cannot be sure exactly what triggered the airline's change of mind, but we have had to wait far too long for it.

"British Airways is not the only company to issue politically correct guidelines that discriminate against Christians. Even so, its pigheadedness in this case beggars belief. Surely an organisation that lavishes millions of pounds on polishing its image should grasp the importance of symbols - and of one symbol in particular. Miss Eweida's cross may be little bigger than a fingernail, but it has turned out to be more powerful than any corporate logo."

Nadia Eweida, a Coptic Christian who is single and looks after her elderly mother, was born in Egypt to an Egyptian father and English mother.

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Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. danjuma1@aol.com.

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