Bishop grants special dispensation for St. Patrick’s Day

Corned beef and cabbage are clearly what’s for dinner March 17.

But what happens when St. Patrick’s Day collides with a Friday during Lent?

Such a delicate matter is best left to the bishop.

Don’t worry, local Catholics. Whether or not you’re Irish-American, Bishop Thomas Daly “has granted the faithful of the Diocese of Spokane a dispensation from the obligation to abstain from meat” on St. Patrick’s Day 2017.

Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence for Catholic Americans. This means refraining from eating meat for the entire day. Fish doesn’t count as meat – it’s in a different category of animal.

It’s a small sacrifice. But the abstention aims to remind Catholics that Jesus died on a Friday.

Those 14 and older are expected to uphold the obligation.

March 17 is an exception this year.

Of course, there are consequences. According to the website for the Diocese of Spokane at dioceseofspokane.org, “Those who choose to take advantage of this dispensation are to engage in some other comparable act of penance.”