WHEREAS, the celebration of the Memorial of Saint Patrick, 17 March, will be observed on Friday of the Second Week of Lent in the year 2017, and
WHEREAS, the celebration of this memorial traditionally is marked by partaking of foods that Catholics are obliged to abstain from eating on a Friday during the privileged Season of Lent according to the norms set forth in the Apostolic Constitution Paenitemini of Blessed Pope Paul VI (17 February 1966),
THEREFORE, I, the Bishop of Toledo, under the norms of canon 87 § 1, do hereby dispense the faithful entrusted to my care and those Catholics who are within the territory of the Diocese of Toledo from the obligation to abstain from meat on the Memorial of Saint Patrick, Friday, 17 March 2017.
As is fitting and just, the faithful who partake of meat on 17 March 2017 are encouraged to undertake another penance that day in the form of a corporal or spiritual work of mercy. In this way, a faithful Catholic still keeps the penitential spirit of a Friday in Lent and unites oneself more closely with the suffering Christ and His Church.
Posted March 14, 2017 at 12:52 pm