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A not so meatless Friday

By LEONORA LAPETER and MARLON A. WALKER
Published March 17, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Cathy Wesenberg felt no guilt Friday as she bit into a pulled-pork sandwich at St. Paul's Catholic Church.

She was cheating for a good cause, the annual St. Patrick's Day festival, a fundraiser for the church school.

"Normally, we wouldn't do it," said her friend Kathy Niederhofer, who also had a pork sandwich. "But because of this weekend and what it's for, we will."

Catholics aren't supposed to eat meat on Fridays during Lent, but those attending the St. Paul's festival got a special dispensation.

But there was a catch: They would have to give up something else if they ate meat at the festival.

"This is a major community gathering event for us, and it's a major celebration during our year," said Father Robert Gibbons, the pastor of St. Paul's. "No one is being forced to eat meat."

Meat was on the minds of many Catholics across the nation Friday. Some dioceses allowed them to eat it, others did not.

"Certainly a third of all bishops publicly said people don't have to abstain from meat on St. Patrick's Day," said Monsignor Kevin W. Irwin, dean of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Even within the Diocese of St. Petersburg, the rules differed.

"Our diocese suggests they refrain from eating meat on all Fridays of Lent and Ash Wednesday, and then there's this little bump in the road that is St. Patrick's Day," said Vicki Wells Bedard, a spokeswoman for the diocese.

Bishop Robert Lynch of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, which serves almost 400,000 Catholics, let individual pastors decide. But on the diocese's Web site, his message was clear:

"As Irish as I am, the answer is: Our diocese will honor the discipline of abstaining from meat. Individuals may contact their local pastor if a special dispensation is required," Lynch wrote.

At St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Tampa, the St. Patrick's Day celebration featured a fish fry instead of the traditional corned beef.

"Normally I'm able to tell people they can eat meat, but it doesn't seem that's the way the diocese wants to go this year, so I decided not to do that," said Father Angelus Migliore, whose church serves about 1,000 families.

The custom of giving up meat was once so strict that it was a sin for Catholics to eat meat during Lent. But in the 1960s, the church relaxed some restrictions. Now it is no longer a sin to not fast or eat meat, Irwin said.

"Today, people are engaged in discipline during Lent, but they don't only give up food," Irwin said. "They go to church more often, they share money with the poor, they pray more. There are more things than just fasting for Lent."

The Tallahassee, Pensacola, Orlando and St. Augustine dioceses gave parishioners the option to eat meat if they got permission from a pastor.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Good Friday, which is April 14 this year. Church law requires those ages 14 to 59 to fast and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. They are allowed one complete meal and two smaller meals.

Irwin said he sees no problem with Catholics eating meat on a Friday during Lent or a church serving meat for St. Patrick's Day.

"It's respecting ethnic diversity and respecting people's patrinal feasts and sense of belonging," he said. "Dispensation for a particular cause doesn't fly in the face of the value of fasting and the value of abstaining."

[Last modified March 17, 2006, 22:10:05]