What happens when Reverend Mr. Clark tries to remove Mr. Hooper's veil?

Late in his life, Father Hooper has become something of a celebrity within the religious community as a powerful and effective minister, but also for his peculiar black veil and the rumors that surround it. As he is on his death bed, the Reverend Mr. Clark is summoned to give him his last rites. As Father Hooper seems to be on the verge of death, Mr. Clark suggests that Father Hooper should remove his veil and lift the cloud of mystery and suspicion that has surrounded his life. As Mr. Clark bends forward to lift the veil, Father Hooper lifts both his hands and holds tightly to the corners of his veil and exclaims that he will never remove his veil. Mr. Clark then inquires as to what horrible sin Father Hooper has committed that he refuses to remove the veil. As he is expiring Father Hooper replies:

Why do you tremble at me alone?...I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil!

Father Hooper leaves his final companions with the same horror and dread which he caused in life and is ultimately buried the way he lived, with his face covered in a black veil.  Hooper's black veil conceals the reality of his existence, sealing him off from others around him. Hooper's unwillingness to remove this veil demonstrates our inability as humans to communicate the true nature of our existence with one another and ultimately suggests that we all live among others but truly in solitude.

In "The Minister's Black Veil," what happens when Reverend Clark tries to remove the veil?

"The Minister's Black Veil" opens with an unsettling change in the lives of the residents of the village of Milford; one of their religious leaders, Parson Hooper, has suddenly taken to wearing a black veil that covers half of his face. The veil seems, in style and manner, to be something one would wear while in mourning, but Hooper refuses to explain exactly why, or for whom, he is wearing it. This leads the parishioners to speculate on his behalf, thinking that it must be for some sin he has committed and intends to spend his life in atonement for.

At the end of the story, as Hooper is dying, he is attended to by his former fiancee, and another priest, Reverend Clark. Clark also assumes that Hooper is wearing the veil because he has some sin to atone for. However, Hooper has led an exemplary life, and Clark wants Hooper to die in such a way that the memory of all his goodness will not be tarnished by the "shadow" that the veil metaphorically casts over them.

In a surprising show of strength and energy, Hooper clasps his hands over the veil as Clark attempts to take it off, saying that he will never remove it while he is alive.