The Lead

UPDATE: The BBC reports that Giles Fraser’s resignation threat relates to “use of force” rather than the taking of legal action to remove the protestors. h/t Thinking Anglicans.

The Times is reporting that Canon Dr. Giles Fraser will resign if the Cathedral moves to evict Occupy London protesters:

...Dr Giles Fraser, who is responsible for the cathedral’s relations with the financial institutions of the City of London, is understood to be prepared to quit should it take legal action against the 200 tents forming an increasingly permanent-looking settlement on its land.
....
A resignation from Dr Fraser would make him a martyr for the anti-capitalist cause and prove hugely embarrassing to the cathedral and the Church. If the cathedral does not try to oust the protesters, however, it will be forced into the humiliating position of reopening with the tents still in place, or remaining closed for months — putting events such as the Remembrance Day services at risk and losing the cathedral about £16,000 a day in tourist revenue.

St Paul's Cathedral: a statement from the Bishop of London

25/10/11

A statement by the Bishop of London on the protest outside St Paul's Cathedral.

"This demonstration has undoubtedly raised a number of very important questions. The St Paul's Institute has itself focused on the issue of executive pay and I am involved in ongoing discussions with City leaders about improving shareholder influence on excessive remuneration.

"Nevertheless, the time has come for the protestors to leave, before the camp's presence threatens to eclipse entirely the issues that it was set up to address. The Dean and the Chapter, who are responsible for St Paul's, have already made it clear that the protest should come to an end and I fully support that view."

Comments (7)

I can hardly believe what I'm reading: The statement by the Bishop of London is outrageous. "The protest should come to an end"??

Is the presence of the protest community really incompatible with the operation of the cathedral? Or is it merely an "unsightly" inconvenience? God help the Bishop, Dean and Chapter if they believe the mission of the Occupy community is incompatible with the Gospel.

I'm listening for Bishop Chartres to say that it's time for the rank sinfulness of the financial sector to come to an end. But Bishop Chartres' own interests are, I'm very sure, consistent with those of the money-changers in the City of London. His statement is not unpardonable only because I believe in the Grace of God.

Posted by Danny Berry | October 26, 2011 8:22 AM

Now the Cathedral has had a chance to see how this threatened departure overwhelmingly plays to Fraser's favor in the comments to stories and social media, perhaps they will slack a little on the presenting issues.

Torey Lightcap

Posted by www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=560747865 | October 26, 2011 10:41 AM

It frustrates me to see a supposedly Christian institution opt to protect their own financial interests rather than stand up for social justice. Shame on the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's!

-Cullin R. Schooley

Posted by Apps 55753818692 1675970731 F785b701a6d1b8c33f0408 | October 26, 2011 11:39 AM

At this point, there's really no good way out of the corner into which the powers at St Paul's have painted themselves. They should do an about face, reopen the cathedral, make peace with the protestors, and help them make the campsite as safe as possible...work with them, instead of standing against them.

June Butler

Posted by GrandmèreMimi | October 26, 2011 11:58 AM

June, don't you want to know why they didn't do that in the first place? Anglicans are sometimes really bad at being Christian when it involves doing scary things. Strangely, it seems only Wesleyan and Anglo-Catholic movements have been willing to do this in the past.

But then, a recognizable Anglicanism was born out of a movement to make everyone comfortable, and a stop rocking the damn boat approach was enforced by law. Our greatest genius is also our greatest flaw. Discuss.

Posted by Clint Davis | October 26, 2011 1:15 PM

Clint, I'm more interested in the leadership at St Paul's doing the right thing now. I don't know what was in their hearts and minds when they chose to close the cathedral. Maybe they'll say; maybe they won't. I do believe in second chances, and although they messed up badly, they can take steps to clean up some of their mess.

Posted by GrandmèreMimi | October 26, 2011 6:46 PM

I think they were thinkinbg of the present when they kept the Cathedral open.

Then they were thinking of the future when they closed it.

And then they thought of the eternal and reopened it.

Posted by Dcn Scott Elliott | October 26, 2011 11:15 PM

Add your comments

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

Reminder: At Episcopal Café, we hope to establish an ethic of transparency by requiring all contributors and commentators to make submissions under their real names. For more details see our Feedback Policy.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)

CATEGORIES

Organizations