Richard Chartres wrote in the London Evening Standard that “the original purpose of the protests, to shine a light on issues such as corporate greed and executive pay, has been all but extinguished – yet these are issues that the St Paul’s Institute has taken to heart and has been engaged in examining.”
He added: “Our message will be simple: pack up your tents voluntarily and let us make you heard.”
Chartres said that he and the dean of St Paul’s, Right Rev Graeme Knowles, would make themselves available outside the cathedral on Sunday morning to “listen and engage” with demonstrators.
The tent city outside the London landmark forced the cathedral to shut its doors to the public on health and safety grounds.
However, the cathedral is due to reopen on Friday afternoon after the Occupy group rearranged the camp’s layout.
The bishop insisted that in asking the camp to disband, St Paul’s was not taking the other side.
Earlier, St Paul’s canon chancellor Giles Fraser resigned over the dispute, apparently because he did not agree with the use of police or bailiffs to remove the activists, which it seems the City of London Corporation – the local authority for the Square Mile – is considering.
Some at the cathedral are said to be unhappy about pressure from the Corporation and London mayor Boris Johnson to have the protestors removed.
According to reports, the Corporation will meet on Friday to discuss plans for eviction.
