On being taken aside by other clergy to be reminded of the rules of the club

I know of clergy in this country who have been, on occasions, outspoken about the dissent and disobedience rampant in the Church in England and Wales who have been taken aside by fellow clergy to be reminded of the rules of the club. The rules of the club must not be transgressed if one wants to avoid being judged ‘not one of us’ or even worse a bounder.

The rules of the club are a code of conduct that are separate from the Code of Canon Law, and which you’ll not find written down anywhere, but once you’re ordained you learn them through a kind of clerical osmosis. These rules ensure that the Omerta, the code of silence, about the dissent and disobedience at every level of the Church in England and Wales are not talked about in public, or even at all.

The rules of the club are enforced through fear of the consequences, fear of being disapproved of, fear of other’s anger, fear of being uprooted from one’s parish and sent to a ‘difficult’ parish, fear of lack of advancement in the Church. The punishment for breaking the rules of the club range in severity, from others expressing disappointment, or next up, being rebuked or chastised, to being threatened with being ‘black-balled’ or sent to Coventry. Being ‘black-balled’ means no longer being welcomed in the club, which is communicated in a number of subtle, and not so subtle, ways. Being ‘sent to Coventry’  means becoming an outsider who is cut out of communications, and no longer having access to the inner groups.  (more...)

On being taken aside by other clergy to be reminded of the rules of the club