The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 8 letter word VERY REVEREND
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
V
E
R
Y
R
E
V
E
R
E
N
D
More clues leading to the result VERY REVEREND
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Cleric" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case cleric = very reverend.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.