The protest camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral in the heart of
the City of London has had one unexpected side effect. It has revealed the
usually hidden fissures inside the
Church of England.
The protest camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral in the heart of
the City of London has had one unexpected side effect. It has revealed the
usually hidden fissures inside the
Church of England.
After initially seeming to be friendly towards the
protestors as they arrived, the church authorities – in league with the
Corporation of London – have started to take steps to get the camp removed.
Since all other available spots inside the City for the camp have been closed
off or put under police guard, this would mean the breaking up of the camp
itself. This has not gone unchallenged. Two senior church officers at St Paul’s
– the Canon Chancellor Dr. Giles Fraser and a chaplain Rev. Fraser Dyer – have
quit in protest over the prospect of legal action. Now religious groups are,
according to a report in this Sunday’s Observer newspaper, planning to
establish a “Ring Of Prayer” to protect the camp against any attempts to break
it up by force. Those who have
indicated support for the Ring include such revolutionary groups as The
Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Student Christian Movement, Christianity
Uncut, The London Catholic Worker, the Society of Sacramental Socialists and,
of course, the Quakers.
This shows one of the two faces of the church – those people
who believe, albeit in a wishy-washy way, in struggling for a better society,
against greed, poverty and war. But there is another face represented by the
Church authorities and people like the Bishop of London, the Right Rev. Richard
Chartres.
Marxists have explained how religious bodies like the Church
of England and the Catholic Church have always formed part of the
superstructure of the state and class rule. Sometimes this link can be direct
and formal, other times the links are less obvious and rather hidden. In
Britain, the Church of England has a formal if often ceremonial link to the
state. It has official status. They are represented in the House of Lords and
have official links to that other “pillar of society” the Monarchy. The Church is by no means a poor
organisation either; it has considerable wealth and assets which it profits
from. In the City of London, the
Church has a close relationship with the Corporation of London and individual
firms.
Of course, the Corporation itself is not like other local
government bodies – it is in effect elected by and from the ranks of Capital;
it has special privileges and protection not granted to other authorities.
Click here to read a piece by George Monbiot on the powers of this body. Indeed, it is a living symbol of the power of the ruling class over all other
bodies of state and public life. Since they like to show that they are not
totally obsessed with Mammon, the City likes to drop a little largesse into the
pockets of the Church. In return the Church is happy to cosy up to these
benefactors. So when the Corporation of London demands that action be taken to
remove this motley crew of campers who seem intend on disrupting the daily
lives of the City traders and board directors, the Church officials are only
too keen to oblige.
So first they shut the Cathedral hoping that the bad
publicity would undermine the protestors case. Clear evidence has emerged that
senior Tories and others put pressure on to see that this happen. The trouble
is that the camp itself is quite small, all the entrances and exits to the
building are clearly accessible. No one is being blocked. Officials started
muttering about “Health and Safety.” But the BBC sent a site assessor down to
judge the situation and he gave it a high safety rating. So they have now
reopened the Cathedral.
Next
step is to join with the Corporation in getting legal remedies to push the camp
out. Chartres and others have started talking about the need to “avoid
violence.” He could have added “or else.” Chartres is an ambitious man who
missed out on getting the top job of Archbishop of Canterbury last time it was
up for grabs and is still looking for advancement. Other officials at the
Cathedral have also been briefing journalists about the need to take action to
clear away the protestors and get back to the business of making money – about
£20,000 a day it is estimated. Even Uber-Toff Mayor Boris Johnson has called on
the camp to go. If nothing else, this has revealed the real class origins of
many of those involved. So the stage is set for an ongoing tussle which many
think will result in further resignations and protests from within the ranks of
the Church itself. This will act as a revelation to those who have illusions in
the church and underline the need for class action to defeat capitalism rather
than simply relying on moral appeals.
STOP PRESS: The church hierarchy has got cold feet for now and told Chartres and his gang of toffs with collars to back off. This has left the Coroporation, who were banking – excuse the pun – on God’s help to clear the campers out before the Xmas parties begun, high and dry. So they have gone back to the drawing board.
Watch this space!
