The Met have got St Paul’s so wrong – it should be at the centre of the demand for tax justice in the City of London

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As Jill Segger reported on the Ekklesia web site on Saturday:

[The] Met[reopolitan Police] announced its intention to move people from the the steps of St Paul's “to maintain the integrity of the cathedral.”

How profoundly misjudged that was.

And as she also reported:

Since this was written, the chancellor of St Paul's, Giles Fraser, has publicly supported the rights of protest and has asked the police to leave demonstrators alone in the vicinity of the Cathedral. Demonstrators have also praised the friendliness of staff there.

But as I have noted, and will continue to note, saying people have a right to protest outside the Cathedral is not enough. Giles Fraser also said that the protests did not disturb Sunday worship in the Cathedral. Well that's not god enough Giles. They should have done. They should have had a profound impact. Not least because as a commentator on this blog noted:

I wonder what St Pauls preacher had to say on Sunday morning. The Gospel text will have been Matthew 22:15-22 — Jesus is asked whether the Jewish Law would permit the payment of tax, in Roman coinage, to the Emperor. Whence comes the famous reply, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God”.

The OccupyLSX movement has now issued its first announcement on what its aims are. High on the list is tax justice. Was that in yesterday's sermon? I hope so. It needed to be. Because this issue is at the core of what St Paul's should be about. It should be demanding tax justice from the City of London.

And I'm looking for delivery.


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