St Paul's Cathedral canon resigns (over crackdown on Occupy London)

[pampango]

Source: UK Telgraph

Giles Fraser quits over plans to forcibly remove Occupy London Stock Exchange protesters from outside cathedral

The canon chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, the Rev Dr Giles Fraser, has resigned in protest at plans to forcibly remove protesters from its steps, saying he could not support the possibility of "violence in the name of the church".

Fraser quickly became a hero figure among the Occupy the London Stock Exchange (LSX) movement, clearing police officers off the steps of St Paul's and supporting the group's right to peaceful protest after a court injunction stopped it from setting up camp in nearby Paternoster Square. He also delivered a Sunday sermon decrying corporate greed, which was seen as another sign of his endorsement of the protest.

Occupy London said it was "deeply moved" to hear of his resignation.

"He is man of great personal integrity and our thoughts are with him. He respected our right to protest and defended it. For that we are very grateful, as he ensured that St Paul's could be a sanctuary for us and that no violence could take place against peaceful protesters with a legitimate cause – challenging and tackling social and economic injustice in London, the UK and beyond."

A spokeswoman, Naomi Colvin, added: "Courage like that is really very inspiring. It reassures us that what we're doing is important. The people who have a bit of integrity, it's becoming more obvious who those people are. I hope we can do well enough to justify their sacrifices."

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/27/st-pauls-cathedral-canon-resigns

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Sad to see but glad that Frasier took a stand on principle.

[Bake]

1. There's one man who knows the heart of Christ!

God bless you, sir.

Bake

[tk2kewl]

2. K&R

[greiner3]

3. One, but very small and isolated;

Instance that organized religion is a 'force for good.' Christopher Hitchens must make a note of this then next time he debates, among others, Tony Blair on whether religion IS a force for good.

If you have not seen this series;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddsz9XBhrYA

106 minutes. Well worth the time.

[joanbarnes]

4. So this is !how a true man of God responds....Jesus was one of the 99%

[No Elephants]

5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

[GliderGuider]

6. Wow! So that's what a social conscience looks like! Giles Fraser,

:yourock:

[Hissyspit]

7. Kick nt

[dipsydoodle]

8. Frasier took a stand on principle ?

That's not quite what happened. All he did was to ask the police to move from the steps of the Cathederal. That was taken as tacit acceptance that the protesters could remain. He made it clear in a TV live interview this afternoon that at no time did he give actual permission for them to remain.

The fact remains that he does sympathise with them.