Can wearing a clerical collar be hazardous to your health? A report out of England suggests it can make you a target:

Catholic and Anglican vicars should remove their clerical collars while off-duty to avoid being singled out for attack, a church safety group said here yesterday.

Criminals often target clergymen because they are perceived to have money. The stiff white neck pieces – nicknamed “dog collars”- also can attract those bearing a “grudge against God”, said Nick Tolson, who heads National Churchwatch.

“They’ve got to be aware that when they’re on their own, they’re at high risk,” Tolson said.

A 2001 University of London study found seven in 10 clergy had experienced some form of violence between 1997 and 1999, and more than one in 10 reported being assaulted.

He said most assaults on clergymen were committed by parishioners, but vicars could prevent attacks by strangers by removing their collars while not on church business.

Tolson blamed dwindling church attendance for diluting the respect traditionally accorded to clergy. “A knock-on effect of this is that attacking a member of the clergy is seen by most criminals as no different to attacking a shopkeeper, robbing an old lady or any other member of society.”

I’ve heard of priests in clerical garb being jeered and even spat at, but I don’t know of any who have feared for their lives while wearing the collar.

But maybe some of my readers know differently…??