“Which side are you on?” Is a popular left-wing song performed by Billy Bragg, Pete Seeger and others which asks you to make a very clear choice — you are either on the side of the union or you are on the side of the bosses. The continuing debacle at St Paul’s Cathedral ought to be an equally simple choice. The clear message of Jesus who identified with the poor and the oppressed would seem to indicate that St Paul’s clergy would have an obvious similar identification with the protesters camped at the Cathedral.
Today we have seen the welcome resignation of the Dean of St Paul’s, the very Rev Graeme Knowles. He felt his position had become untenable because of the increased criticism coming to him from all quarters including the Chancellor of St Paul’s, Dr Giles Fraser, and the Rev Fraser Dyer, a chaplain at the Cathedral, who have resigned over the decision to pursue legal action to break up the camp. Depressingly, both the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London have been unhelpful with mealy-mouthed statements and platitudes instead of trying to be leaders in the situation.
That the Cathedral should have decided to have made an alliance with the Corporation of London to pursue legal action against the protesters is utterly reprehensible. There’s a whole passage in the Bible that deals with this sort of subject and it clearly states that, “To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you.” It is however encouraging to see that an increasing number of Christian groups are identifying with the protesters including Jonathan Bartley, director of the influential religious think-tank Ekklesia, who described the Cathedral’s handling of the protest as a “car crash” saying “There are some very unhappy people within the Church of England. The protesters seem to articulate many of the issues that the church has paid lip-service to. Many people are disillusioned with the position St Paul’s has adopted. To evict rather than offer sanctuary is contrary to what many people think the church is all about.”
The Guardian on Saturday carried a report that the St Paul’s Institute who had commissioned a report into the moral standards of bankers which has been suppressed by St Paul’s because it might give the impression that the Cathedral supported the protesters. The report is based on a survey of 500 City workers who were asked if they thought they were worth their salaries and bonuses, was due to be published last Thursday.
The most depressing part of the whole thing is that despite the fact it is quite obvious that the Cathedral should be on the side of the protesters, they are pursuing a separate path. It does seem that the lifestyle that the Carpenter of Nazareth taught to his followers does not seem to be one that is embraced by those who are leading the Church today.
Tags: #occupy. St Pauls
