For those who may not have heard the news, it will be fine with the Church for Catholics to eat corned beef on Friday, March 17th. Though the day falls on a Friday during the Holy Lenten Season; traditionally a day of abstinence in regard to the consumption of meat by Roman Catholics over the age of 14, Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, head of the Archdiocese of Boston, has granted ‘dispensation’ for the day in light of the Feast of St. Patrick where a meal of Corned Beef and Cabbage is an important part of the celebration.
The statement in regard to the dispensations follows:
“Given the importance of this feast in the life of the Archdiocese and in the lives of so many of our families, I am granting a dispensation from the Friday Lenten Abstinence on March 17th, 2017 to those who wish to take advantage of this opportunity,” he wrote. He added that Catholics who do should consider another sacrifice or act of charity to make up for it.”
