The inevitable resignation of the Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s, Giles Fraser, via the predictable medium of Twitter, is a sad day for one of our great national churches. But the departure of this able man, and now the planned reopening of the cathedral, should at least bring to an end the hand-wringing and posturing of the past two weeks. My paramount concern throughout has been that the reputation of Christianity is being damaged by the episode, and, more widely, that the possibility of fruitful and peaceful protest has been brought into disrepute.
The Blitz only closed St Paul’s for four days. By contrast, the Occupy London Stock Exchange protesters, camped outside Wren’s masterpiece, managed to put it out of business for a week. It has been a debacle that should prompt urgent public debate both within the Church of England, and throughout society at large.
Yes, yes, yes, all true. A debacle. At least the protesters should have been required to provide unhindered easy access to the church, and then they would have become a tourist attraction. BTW… George Carey is called Lord Carey, or Lord Carey of Clifton. But never, ever is he referred to as Lord George Carey, unmistakably indicating that he’s the younger son of Duke or a Marquess, which he’s not.
[i] The error is corrected. Thank you. [/i]
-Elf
I very much appreciate the punctilious and polite correction in Comment no. 1, concerning proper titles and forms of address. These are virtually impenetrable to most Americans, but provide a flicker of hope that There’ll Always Be An England.
#2 Fear not – help is at hand!
Pageantmaster, you’re a gem!
All true. I too thank Pageantmaster and A Senior Priest for their contributions here.
But what about Lord Carey’s essay itself? From this side of the Pond, it seems to me that he’s right on target. Only perhaps, he may have understated things a bit. In good English fashion.
My favorite part: The Blitz only closed St. Paul’s for four days. The Occypy Lond Square Movement managed to do it for a week.
Nice zinger.
David Handy+
Oops, I meant Occupy London Stock Exchange. (Foolish American)
DH+