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Unite says bullying of clergy ‘needs to be tackled’
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| Rachael Maskell |
A culture of bullying has yet to be understood or addressed in the Church and in other faith communities, Unite, the largest UK union, says.
Rachael Maskell, Unite’s National Officer in the Community and Non- Profit Sector, told the Gazette last week that the 2.1 million member union had 2,500 workers in faith communities in membership, with a small but growing number in Ireland, North and South. She added that the situation of abuse of clergy was "tragic" and "a serious problem in the Church".
At the time of our going to press, Ms Maskell was due to tell a ‘Define Bullying’ event in London of the large number of calls and emails - about 50 - that the union has received in the wake of the Revd Mark Sharpe case.
Mr Sharpe and his family said they suffered four years of torment at the hands of their parishioners before leaving their rectory at Hanley Broadheath, near Worcester, just before Christmas. Unite argues that the Church authorities failed to support Mr Sharpe through this ordeal.
Ms Maskell, drawing on her experience of working with clergy around the globe, says: "The case of Mark Sharpe is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to bullying in the Church - a scourge that the Church hierarchy seems unable or unwilling to tackle."
She comments: "Since Christmas, we have had an upsurge of calls from clergy and from members of other denominations telling us about heartrending stories of bullying and other forms of abuse, such as sexual harassment and intimidation.
"Many have had their lives ruined by the scars of this experience and only wish the Church would be humble enough to talk to a union which has clear expertise in dealing with these issues."
Unite is calling for those leading the various faith communities to treat this issue "with the seriousness it deserves", and says that the only way forward is for there to be dialogue and proper procedures and training put in place.
Ms Maskell told the Gazette that there were also serious issues in relation to fairness in making senior Church appointments, commenting that lack of accountability in appointment procedures "can lead to abuse of power".
She said the union had been working particularly closely with Churches in North America and continental Europe on issues relating to the abuse of clergy and the misuse of power by those in authority.
Unite was formed by a merger between two leading unions, the T&G and Amicus. It describes itself as "a democratic and campaigning union" on behalf of employees in the workplace, and says it is "taking trade unionism out to the millions of unorganised workers".