Persecution of Christians is wrong, say Bishops
CHRISTIANS are being persecuted and treated with “disrespect” while the Government bends over backwards to be sensitive to Muslims and other faiths, leading clergy claim.
Six prominent bishops and former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey have complained in an open letter of “discrimination” and say Labour has brushed aside Christian beliefs in new legislation that overrides tradition.
They highlighted the plight of nurse Shirley Chaplin, banned from working on hospital wards because she wears a necklace with a cross.
Former Home Office Minister and Express columnist Ann Widdecombe said: “Christians are being increasingly marginalised. Would the hospital authorities put a Sikh nurse in a side room because they did not like her bangles, or ban a Muslim nurse from the wards because of her headscarf?”
Mrs Chaplin, 54, of Exeter, is taking her case to a tribunal today. The Government said last night: “We’re committed to ensuring nobody is treated unfairly because of their beliefs, which is why the Equality Bill protects everyone, including Christians, from religious discrimination.”