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.
Does anyone else think this is just bizarre on numerous levels?
Not at all.
I do.
I guess it depends whether or not you have been there yourself. Ann Atkins has written a very interesting article in today’s Times (see above).
I’ve lived in England for a year, and studying during that time at an Anglican seminary. The whole notion just strikes me as weird on numerous levels. Yes, I have witnessed first hand the hostile, secular world that has become modern Britain. I have no doubt that clergy get dumped on in such a culture.
But the insinuations (and, granted, this may be my baggage with unions having been a member and seen some dark sides of unions) in this article that clergy need down and dirty unions seems even more bizarre. I just get mental images of Anglican goons knee capping some punk with pink hair.
Here’s another image, union clergy picketing a church to keep scab clergy out. It just doesn’t seem right to me either.
Haha…I hadn’t thought of that, JustOneVoice, but that’s pretty funny.
I think it seems bizarre because union organizing is at heart an antagonistic enterprise – I don’t mean that unions are bad (although I think their usefulness is long past) – I mean that inherent in the idea of unions is to serve as a force against management, so there is a built-in antagonism and confrontation. It’s an “us” vs “them” mentality, and one doesn’t expect one’s priest to have that type of attitude.
Branford,
One also expects bishops always to be pastoral and congregations always to be understanding. Unfortunately it doesn’t necessarily work that way (and not just with liberal bishops and congregations either, since dysfunction knows no theological boundaries).
In the absence of both, I can see why some clergy might be tempted (though I agree that a formal clergy union might not be the best solution).
It may help those who are not in the C of E to know that C of E priests in general are not employed, and so have no employment rights as such. Which is just one reason why this is a problem. Union membership at the least provides legal insurance against accusations of mis-conduct. Do read Anne Atkins’ article in today’s Times, it’s an eye-opener.
Clergy in the Church of Sweden are members of a union, and it has provided precisely this sort of protection — including for orthodox priests. One prominent instance is [url=http://kalin.nu/english/bjornfyrlund.htm]described here[/url].