How we cite our quotes: (Day.Story.Page)
Quote #7
Ah, scandal of this corrupt and wicked world! It doesn't worry [the friars] in the least that they appear so fat and bloated, that a bright red glow suffuses their cheeks, that their clothes are smooth as velvet, and that in all their dealings they are so effeminate; yet they are anything but dovelike, for they strut about like so many peacocks with all their feathers on display. (VII.3.496, Elissa's story of Friar Rinaldo)
St. Thomas Aquinas, a brilliant Italian theologian and Dominican friar, was reputed to be colossally fat and hugely fond of his food. We don't know if the image of Aquinas contributed to Boccaccio's comic portrait of friars, but you'll see that they're stereotypically fat in The Decameron. Boccaccio's not fat-shaming here. Rather, he's pointing out a larger problem (no pun intended): fatness implies that these clergymen are indulging in the sin of gluttony. The hefty friar is evidence of hypocrisy, since they're always preaching against indulging the appetites.
Quote #8
Fair ladies, it behoves me to relate a little story against a class of persons who keep offending us without our being able to retaliate. I am referring to the priests, who have proclaimed a crusade against our wives, and who seem to think, when they succeed in laying one of them on her back, that they have earned full remission of all their sins, as surely as if they had brought the Sultan back from Alexandria to Avignon in chains. (VIII.2.555, Panfilo's story about Monna Belcolore and the Priest of Varlungo)
Panfilo points out another good reason to hate friars: the average Joe is powerless to criticize them. While the people probably discuss the faults of the clergy among themselves, clergymen still have a great deal of power in the community. This power differential is what defines sexual harassment in any relationship.
Quote #9
Surely we can only conclude that whereas the munificence of the King was a virtue, that of the priest was a miracle; for these latter are so incredibly mean that women are positively generous by comparison, and they fight tooth and nail against every charitable instinct. Moreover, whereas all men naturally crave to be avenged for wrongs they have received, we know from experience that the members of the clergy, though they preach submissiveness and warmly commend the pardoning of wrongs, surpass all other men in the zeal with which they conduct their vendettas (X.2.706, Elissa's story of Ghino di Tacco and the Abbot of Cluny).
Elissa gets in a swipe at women as well as priests. We finally see a clergyman who can be commended for generosity and Boccaccio can only allow him a back-handed compliment. It seems that the stereotype of the bad priest/friar prevails, and the exception proves the rule.