"It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"

That the Chapter of St Pauls were seriously considering violence against peaceful protesters in the name of the church, says it all really. Good for Giles Fraser.

I wonder who pays Flashbuck to comment on the New Statesman site? His job appears to be to make the right look bad, and he performs admirably.

Its a bit pointless having a protest in your front living room. Not going to make much of an impact there.
College Green would be an ideal place to pitch 50 tents if you can manage to get rid of the hoardes of journalists loitering around there. Perfect campsite, pretty central.

"Closing the cathedral has been a PR disaster for these protesters"

The protesters didn't close the cathedral - you should check the facts before mouthing off. The Chapter closed the Cathedral, choosing to "lose £20,000 a day" rather than deal honestly with protesters expressing Christian values. Evensong was conducted on Sunday outside the closed cathedral, apparently while the Chapter were discussing the use of violence against peaceful protesters in the name of the Church.

The PR disaster has been appalling - and all at the (closed) door of St Pauls Cathedral. Shame there aren't more Christians who work there.

When the Church of England dies and the last Anglican flocks to the greater certainties of Catholicism, the activities of Dr Spacely-Trellis-types from the Sparty Wadham College will be first on the list of reasons.

The tedious Fraser is up there, what with his analogies to the Levellers and deliberately taking up the rectorship at St Mary's Putney because of all that connection with the "English radical tradition"; an unhistorical notion; the man clearly thinks he's the next Tony Benn. Archbishop Williams is top of the list.

I wouldn't put it past Blair, a closet Catholic throughout his Premiership, to have appointed these individuals for precisely this reason.

As for the comment about the Church employing "violence against the protesters": wrong on both counts, removing these people would not amount to violence, and at any rate they aren't protesters but immature sanctionious middle-class students squatting outside the great cathedral. If they were protesters, they would have some sort of demands which if met would make them go away. "Down twinkles" (look it up) to the smug crusty hippies.

Fraser is to be congratulated on putting his principles before his job, and has joined the long line of progressive clerics like the Red Dean, Mervyn Stockwood, Trevor Huddlestone and Bruce Kent. The Church must be seen to be more radical and challenge the Establishment more if it is to survive.