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Lenten Dilemma


Catholics who have a beef with the rules will have to head out of town for a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal.
This year, St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday during the Lenten season of fasting and prayer. As any good Catholic knows, you don’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent. For those who can’t celebrate the patron saint of Ireland without a slab of pink corned beef and a side of cabbage, there’s good news. Bishops in Florida’s other six dioceses have given varying degrees of dispensation to the religious obligation. That means you can drive to Orlando or Sarasota and order dinner with all the trimmings, sans guilt. Tell us what you’re going to do.

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Posted by  Arlen Ness, Valrico on 03/17  at  01:57 PM

It’s just food. I don’t think anyone is going to burn in hell over eating corned beef and cabbage.
If the church wants to worry about something they should worry about what their priests are doing and I’m not talking about what they had for dinner either.


Posted by  john traas, mulberry,fl. on 03/17  at  11:50 AM

not being of the Catholic faith,I can see once again the decline of the faithfull.
first they did away with Latin,than came the Saturday mass instead of Sunday.Now they did away with fish only on Friday.
what is next?
the catholic church is getting more and more like the protestant denominations,who all have different ideas about Christianity.
no wonder Islam is on the move!
one language(Arabic)and one worldwide doctrine.


Posted by  Robert Cerajewski, Largo,FL on 03/17  at  09:07 AM

No problem!,I’ll stay Kosher and enjoy
the corned beef.
I really don’t need a holiday to change eating habits.
Years ago I gave up Catholisim for lent anyway.!


Posted by  John F. Marretta, Port Richey, FL on 03/17  at  08:23 AM

To choose St. Patrick’s day over lent in fact, simply shows how hypocritical of a catholic you are.  A real catholic wouldn’t eat me no matter what day it is.  You can’t pick and choose.


Posted by  Richard Smith, Florida on 03/17  at  04:42 AM

The cafeteria-style obedience is against the teachings of the Church. One cannot simply drive to another liberal diocese to break the tradition.

Anyone who eats meat on Fridays during lent is breaking the tradition. Lent is supposed to be a time where parties and fests are given up until Easter.


Posted by  Philip Maitino, Tampa Florida on 03/16  at  06:08 PM

Our Bishop has given dispensation and asked us to do another form of fasting but my wife and I are abstaning from meat on Friday.


Posted by  ted church, SILLYSILLYSILLY on 03/16  at  01:46 PM

interesting dilemma.  st. p is certainly NOT a major saint and his feast could hardly be considered an occasion for any sort of dispensation—on the other hand, we have the mostly american ‘tradition’ of corned beef and green beer, frankly, since it seems to me most american roman catholics find themselves practicing some sort of artifical birth control, failig to tithe of their first fruits, delving into some sort of racism, sexism and failure to treat their neighbor as a child of God, the whole issue seems silly to me.  i think Jesus said something about straing at a gnat, while swallowing a camel, didnt he?
probably be better for the bishops to advise their folks not to get blind drunk.  pat and Jesus would be happy with that advice.


Posted by  Ray Pickell, Brooksville Florida on 03/16  at  12:59 PM

This shows me that the bishop of this diocese is out of touch with the people. I’ve checked some other newspapers in the country and from what I read most bishops have issued some kind of dispensation for their dioceses. All this sort of thing does is send more people away from the church and that is a shame.


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