Father, saint or cleric (6)

I believe the answer is:

pastor

'cleric' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'father saint or' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa can mean dad or father).
'saint' becomes 'st' (abbreviation).
'pa'+'st'+'or'='PASTOR'

(Other definitions for pastor that I've seen before include "To spar with clergyman" , "Church minister" , "Christian minister" , "Minister of religion" , "Flock's leader" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.

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