Dirty priest pulled from wreck (4)
I believe the answer is:
soil
'dirty' is the definition.
(I know that dirty can be written as soil)
'priest pulled from wreck' is the wordplay.
'priest' becomes 'p' (ecclesiastical abbreviation).
'pulled from' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'wreck' becomes 'spoil' (I've seen this before).
'spoil' with 'p' taken away is 'SOIL'.
(Other definitions for soil that I've seen before include "Earth; stain" , "Sully with earth" , "Earth; make dirty" , "refuse" , "Top layer of the surface of the earth" .)