National Front cross plan angers church

A plan by the National Front political party to register a Celtic cross as its official logo has angered the Catholic Church.

The party has submitted an application to the Electoral Commission to adopt the emblem, flanked by the letters NF. Sid Wilson, national director, said the cross was a symbol of Western civilisation and the logo was "our own organic design".

Father John Harrison, chancellor of the Dunedin Diocese of the Catholic Church, said the cross represented the way Christ died and was a revered symbol.

"The name and ethos of the New Zealand National Front party appears fundamentally opposed to Christianity, to the point that possible confusion occasioned by its use of the cross in its logo would create offence," he said.

The Electoral Commission can decline a logo if it believes it is "offensive, likely to cause confusion or mislead electors or contains any reference to a title or honour or similar form of identification".

The commission is accepting submissions until Thursday this week. A decision is expected in early October.