Occupy London: Cleric Resigns Amid St. Paul's Cathedral Protest
A cleric at London’s famous St. Paul's Cathedral has decided to step down today amid worry that the landmark plans to evict protesters that have made the monument the base for their movement.
Canon Chancellor Giles Fraser has resigned and said via Twitter Thursday, “It is with great regret and sadness that I have handed in my notice at St. Paul’s Cathedral.”
However, Fraser did not give a reason for his resignation.
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He did tell the London Evening Standard that he believed the cathedral was set on a course of action that “may lead to violence," causing some to speculate that the reason behind Fraser’s resignation was because cathedral was going to attempt to evict protesters outside.
Fraser has been supportive of the movement and many protesters expressed their gratitude for the bold move.
The Occupy London movement has caused issues for St. Paul's Cathedral, and cathedral officials released a statement last week politely asking protesters to consider how their actions could impact the availability of the church for worship.
The statement asked everyone to respect the risk that they present to the “life” of the Cathedral.
However, shortly after the statement, the historic Cathedral closed it doors Thursday for the first time in decades.
Outside of the cathedral sits hundreds of makeshift tents that house protesters inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement emanating out of New York City.
Occupy London protesters originally attempted to occupy the London Stock Exchange but failed to occupy the area and moved over to the monumental cathedral where they have created an information center, a makeshift kitchen, and set up toilets for themselves.
Some cathedral officials reportedly told some journalists that although they do not want to see the protest movement go, they are concerned about the protest growing in size and scale and ultimately putting the life of cathedral in jeopardy.
