The Occupy St. Paul’s protesters have lost their court battle and will be evicted.

Reaction from the church was predictable:

The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, commenting on the ruling, said: ‘Whatever now happens as a result of today’s judgment, the protest has brought a number of vital themes to prominence.

‘These are themes that the St Paul’s Institute remains committed to exploring and, now through London Connection, we want to ensure they continue to have a voice.

‘Bishops cannot have all the answers to what are complex economic problems. What we can do, however, is broker communications and make sure that a proper connection between finance and its ethical and moral context is found.’

It will be a profound relief to the clergy of St. Paul’s to return to the main mission of the Church of England: criticising capitalism from comfy armchairs, sherry in hand, without the tedious inconvenience of having to wade through a tide of smelly protesters first.