Chair of Westminster Diocese Justice & Peace committee addresses Occupy London campaign

Church leaders from several denominations joined a day of music, poetry and talks with the Occupy campaigners by St Paul's Cathedral on Saturday. Fr Joe Ryan, chair of Westminster Diocese Justice and Peace Committee, and Parish Priest at St John Vianney's in West Green, north London, was one of the speakers.

Fr Joe told the crowd: "I consider it a privilege to speak to you today as a citizen of London, a servant of humanity and a Catholic priest. I have dedicated over 40 years of my life to working with and for people in this city, many have been underprivileged.

Since 15 October 2011, I have been an ardent supporter of Occupy London. I wish to thank you for what I call 'The Parliament of the Streets'. You have raised and discussed issues often confined only to the corridors of power; you have brought those ideas to our streets. You have raised voices for those who have no voice of their own; you have tackled unjust structures which make the rich richer and the poor poorer. You have been a voice of perseverance and presence to all. For this I thank and congratulate you.

"Where do we go from here? You have given us all a wake up call. It is now over to all of us to get engaged in the important issues of today, unemployment, accountability and transparency from our leaders. We demand change for the common good. We demand democracy and justice."

"May I ask a question? When did you earn your last million pounds? When did you last get a million pounds bonus? I am not talking today only of Stephen Hester – but all the 'Stephen Hesters' who are given obscene bonuses. And today I hear George Osborne, stating that Mr Hester could be given much more; so we should be thankful. I would like to remove the word ‘BONUS’ from the Oxford English Dictionary!

"If I do a job, bake a cake, repair an engine, clean the street, carry out a heart transplant … I am doing my job and getting paid. Do I deserve a bonus? I rest my case!

"So we need to work together. We need to leave aside our differences and work for a better world. We need to start with ourselves; get our friends engaged and speak to like-minded people. We need to be certain that the effort of each individual is vital.

"We need to work with those involved in making a better world; those involved in the care of other people. I think of Amnesty International; the various peace movements; ending war and the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. Keep up the good work of Occupy London, there are many who stand in solidarity with you."

Stephen Hester has since declined his bonus, and  the whole issue is currently being publicly debated. Fr Joe commented: "this is the tip of the iceberg, but at least I see the beginning of some new rational thinking on the matter of obscene bonuses."