[dsc]

“What an asshole. I’d like to get a bunch of Irish Catholics, like me, and go kick the shit out of this guy.”

Aren’t we Catholics forbidden from laying hands on the clergy? Correct me if I’m wrong.

[JPJones]

“Aren’t we Catholics forbidden from laying hands on the clergy? Correct me if I’m wrong.”

Times are a changin’.

[GreyHoundSailor]

My Irish Catholic grandfather gave ‘the clergy’ the same treatment they gave his son (my father) in Cork. It wasn’t pleasant for ‘the clergy’ but they certainly deserved it. It appears you are wrong.

[Mrs. Don-o]

It is a canonical offense to physically attack a member of the clergy. The penalty (e.g. excommunication) would depend on the motivation and the gravity of the offense.

By "motivation" I mean if he was attacked out of contempt for the Church, or for his office, or as a way to intimidate him in the carrying out of his just ecclesiastical duties. I don't think, for instance, that if the clergyman (physically) aggressed or attacked or threatened someone first, that physical self-defense would be forbidden.

But I'm not a canon lawyer. Read for yourself.

Delicts Against Ecclesiastical Authorities