By Ruth Gledhill
Times
DATA
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6975883.ece
A bishop is among the 150 clergy and ministers who have sought protection with the trade union Unite from what it describes as a culture of bullying in the established Church.
Most of those who have sought help are in the Church of England but Roman Catholic priests, rabbis and imams have also joined Unite, according to Rachael Maskell, national officer for the union's faith workers' branch.
The union, which has set up a special helpline for priests intimidated by their bishops or congregations, is reviewing its clergy caseload as part of its campaign for full employment rights for clergy.
Among the 2,500 members of the faith workers' branch are four bishops, including one "very prominent" Church of England bishop and one from the Church in Wales.
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The union was asked recently to help one bishop after he was ordered to return his licence and "go" for reasons that it did not disclose. Criminality was not alleged, but Unite says that there should be due process rather than a wall of silence.
Ms Maskell told The Times that bullying and sexual harassment of clergy were serious problems that were not being adequately addressed. One cleric suffered bullying from parishioners when he refused to perform "pagan blessings", she said. In another parish disgruntled worshippers put notices up around the village, alleging that their vicar was incompetent.
"Church of England bishops are in denial about all sorts of things that go on. Sexual harassment of women clergy is not rare; it is out there," Ms Maskell said.
She compared it to the problem of child abuse in the Roman Catholic church, which was shaken last month by the resignation of four out of five Irish bishops after the Murphy Report into the Dublin archdiocese exposed a cover-up.
"The more they try to bury it, the more pain there will be," Miss Maskell said. She warned that clergy who dared to raise the issue risked being put on a "black list" that would make it difficult to find work in future.
The Church of England believes that most clergy, currently defined as "officeholders" rather than employees, do not want full employment rights.
The Church's recent review of terms of service found that reclassifying clergy as employees "would entail radical changes to the way in which ministry would be provided across the country."
The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Right Rev John Packer, said that most clergy did not want their status changed because they saw their work as a vocation not a job.
The Archbishop of Canterbury admitted that there was a problem with bullying in the Church when he spoke at a TUC conference last year. He said: "I have good reason to know from pastoral contacts with people how much of an issue it can be and I wish we were better at that."
Last month Unite called for the resignation of two bishops after claiming that a vicar, Mark Sharpe, had been forced out of his home and job in the Worcester diocese by what the union described as "a culture of neglect and bullying". His departure with his family came after four years of alleged harassment, during which the family's pet dog was fatally poisoned, faeces was smeared on his car and his tyres were slashed twice.
Mr Sharpe, 42, has an employment tribunal listed for May when he will claim damages from the Church of England for failing to provide protection from harassment. He is now planning to sue for constructive dismissal as well after he resigned his living due to ill health.
The Bishop of Dudley, the Right Rev David Walker, denied the allegations.
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