Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has warned that the reputation of Christianity is being damaged by the ongoing fall-out over the protest at St Paul’s Cathedral. Link to this article is included here.
In a damning assessment of the “debacle” caused by the Occupy London Stock Exchange camp, Lord Carey criticised the way senior clergy had “mismanaged” the situation.
Writing for The Daily Telegraph after Dr Giles Fraser’s resignation as Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s, Lord Carey accused them of being indecisive and weak.
“After their initial welcome to Occupy, the cathedral authorities seemed to lose their nerve,” he wrote.
“One moment the Church was reclaiming a valuable role in hosting public protest and scrutiny, the next it was looking in turns like the temple which Jesus cleansed, or the officious risk-averse ’elf ’n’ safety bureaucracy of urban legend. How could the dean and chapter at St Paul’s have let themselves get into such a position?”
Lord Carey also questioned the morals of the protesters, describing their monopoly of Church land as “opportunistic and cynical”.
It can also be disclosed that a damning report Canon Fraser had been due to publish on Thursday about bankers’ lack of ethics, had been shelved by the cathedral amid concerns that it would only escalate the row.
His position became untenable after cathedral clergy signalled that they would back legal action to evict the protesters.
The cathedral will reopen its doors on Friday, ending a controversial six-day closure which cost the Church an estimated £120,000 in revenue