St Paul's Cathedral to reopen

St Paul's Cathedral is to reopen later after being closed to the public for a week over health and safety fears about a protest camp in its churchyard.A service at 12:30 BST will mark the reopening, although the dome and galleries will remain closed.The large number of tents pitched by supporters of the Occupy London protest led to the closure last Friday.Writing in the Daily Telegraph former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey said the situation was a "debacle".Dr Giles Fraser resigned as canon chancellor of St Paul's on Thursday, saying he feared the cathedral was set on a course that could lead to the forcible eviction of demonstrators.The City of London Corporation's planning committee is due to hear legal advice on Friday and decide whether to take court action against the demonstrators.Earlier this week the Dean of St Paul's, the Right Reverend Graeme Knowles, said the cathedral authorities had taken legal advice on whether to take court action.The church authorities have asked the demonstrators to leave the churchyard but the Occupy London group has said it intends to continue its protest against corporate greed.St Paul's is able to reopen because of changes to the layout of the tents outside the cathedral.Meanwhile, in the Telegraph article, Lord Carey said he was concerned "that the reputation of Christianity is being damaged" over the events at St Paul's.He questioned how the cathedral authorities had dealt with the demonstration.He wrote: "One moment the church was reclaiming a valuable role in hosting public protest and scrutiny, the next it was looking in turns like the temple which Jesus cleansed, or the officious risk-averse 'elf 'n safety bureaucracy of urban legend."How could the dean and chapter at St Paul's have let themselves get into such a position?"He also accused the protesters of intransigence after refusing to leave when asked and said a picture emerged of protesters as "spoilt middle-class children returning home at night for a shower and a warm bed"."It has been a debacle that should prompt urgent public debate both within the Church of England, and throughout society at large."The cathedral has claimed to be losing £20,000 a day since its closure.