Monday, February 24, 2020

A Conundrum For Catholics And Their Abstinence From Meats During Lent

        Despite Pope Paul VI permitting bishops to modify the meat abstinence policy as they see fit in their respective jurisdictions, the idea of weekly abstinence from meats each Friday is one that still exists in the Code of Canon Law (Canons 1250-1253). Violating this commandment is considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be a mortal sin. That means a Catholic who consumes meat on Friday is destined to hell unless the sin is absolved by a priest. This restriction has been limited to Ash Wednesday and Lent in the United States since 1966 (when Paul VI issued Paenitemini). Does this mean that adherents of Rome who ate meat on Friday and failed to confess their sin to a priest before that year are in hell? Did God "bend the rules" and release these souls from hell the moment Church policy changed?

4 comments:

Jorge said...

This is hilarious. I will expand in Spanish on this topic. Thank you for the insight.

In Christ.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

The fact that people buy into this nonsense is showing a plain need to get the Gospel to Catholics. Rome has invented sins and even invented punishment for invented sins. I'd say that it is nothing less than blasphemy.

zipper778 said...

Good point, and thanks for the Code of Canon Law reference. I always wanted to look into this and you made it easier.

Quick correction on what you posted, pope Pail VI issued Paenitemini, not John Paul VI.

Jesse Albrecht said...

Thank you for submitting the correction. I made an embarrassing typo.