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When trust went, the rest followed

"IT WAS an Establishment cover up." "The Dean is seriously ill." "The Dean is on the way out." "Lord Jauncey was got at." If Westminster Abbey had supposed that the rumour mill would finally stop grinding when the Lord Chancellor's appointed representative found in their favour in the matter of Dr and Mrs Neary's dismissal, it was mistaken. All these remarks were made this week. Even the suggestion that the Nearys had been exonerated, made by supporters at their press conference last Wednesday, was inaccurate. True, the judge did not establish that the Nearys had acted from dishonest motives when they arranged for Mrs Neary to take a fixing fee for concerts without telling either the lay vicars of the Abbey choir or the Dean and Chapter; when they held on to surpluses from certain concerts; when they confused Abbey-promoted events for which Mrs Neary received overtime payments on top of her salary as concerts secretary with independent events for which she drew a fixing fee. But he did not have to. The Nearys were sacked for what they did (or failed to do), not for any motives they may have had. Thus accusations of guilt or professions of innocence are not appropriate to the case, especially when made by outsiders with no clear knowledge of the details. The injunctions against going to law in 1 Corinthians 6 are sound ones; and yet, as with so much in this case, the verses are incorrectly directed at the Abbey alone. And critics of the law are disingenuous: it was natural for the Dean and Chapter to consult their lawyers over behaviour that they suspected but did not know to be misconduct; similarly, few would blame the Nearys for seeking legal help when they were summarily suspended and dismissed. Western society is based on the rule of law, and it protects as many as it castigates. The law, however, as well as being clear-sighted in its purpose, is hard-hearted in its execution. Once the Abbey allowed its hands to be tied by the lawyers, it was actively inhibited from pursuing charitable relations with the Nearys, and for this it must take some blame. But by the time this juncture was reached the damage had already been done. Those without experience of life in a religious community cannot appreciate how vital is the element of trust. Once gone, it is almost impossible to restore, and the best recourse is to put aside the question of right or wrong and simply get out. It is to be hoped that the Nearys will soon be thriving elsewhere.

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