Cross with care

Much crossness at the Vatican, we note, over the fashion among celebrities for wearing golden, diamond-studded crucifixes. Various stars find themselves anathematised, accused of flaunting a Christian symbol costing large sums of money while forgetting the plight of the poor.

Much crossness at the Vatican, we note, over the fashion among celebrities for wearing golden, diamond-studded crucifixes. Various stars find themselves anathematised, accused of flaunting a Christian symbol costing large sums of money while forgetting the plight of the poor.

We have difficulty in rising to such a state of exercise, recalling, for example, the rather more robust attitude of the Founder, who showed notable sympathy for the louche and their ilk. It is undeniable, too, that the Founding Fathers knew the value of a potent proselytising symbol. And that's before we go on to make the usual cheap point about the Vatican treasures.

Moreover, as they mingle amid the glister and the hurly of the flashbulb and the canapé, who is to say that the eye of Naomi, Catherine Zeta, or even P Diddy might not suddenly fall upon their glittering accessory and epiphany result? Many a good saint has got a start in similar circumstance; we can but pray.