Bishop Seeks Friday Abstinence

Last week in his opening speech at a meeting of US Catholic bishops in Baltimore, Timothy Cardinal Dolan of New York, suggested that it might be time for the Church to return to pre-Vatican II practices. In addition to re-establishing "Confession" as an integral part of being a Catholic, he suggested the bishops should consider ruling that US Catholics abstain from eating meat on Fridays.

In case you have forgotten, prior to 1966 Catholics were forbidden to eat meat or meat products on Fridays. To do so was a sin that could result in eternal damnation Then in 1966, Pope Paul VI eliminated the requirement and suggested that Catholics fast and abstain voluntarily and suggested non-dietary practices such as prayer and works of charity. Since then most US Catholics abstained from meat only on the Fridays of Lent.

In a radio interview  after his speech, Cardinal Dolan suggested that the 1966 ruling was a mistake and that US Catholics should return to Friday Abstinence. When pressed for a rationale for Abstinence, the Cardinal said that  US Catholics need "identifiable markers," external signs that will identify Catholics as Catholics. In fact, he lamented the absence of other "identifiable markers" such as nuns wearing habits and the traditional genuflection, both of which have their origin in Medieval Europe. He thinks we need more external signs such as ashes on the forehead on Ash Wednesday.

This fascination with the need for external sign strikes me  as being contrary to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Did he not tell us that if we are going to fast, we should do it and not let others know that we are fasting? He also reminded us: "I repeat , you will be able to tell them by their fruits." (Matt. 7:20) True Christians and Catholics do not need "external markers" to identify themselves. If our lives and works do not identify us, then external markers markers are not going to do the job. A nun does not need a habit to proclaim her Christianity  her dedication to helping the poor and disadvantaged tells us more about her than a silly black dress. In fact, Jesus had an issue with the Pharisees because they flaunted external markers.

The Cardinal's concern about external markers is superficial  and insulting.

 In 1966 when Pope Paul VI presented the concept of penance, fasting and abstinence , he gave Catholics credit for being adults who were capable making decisions for themselves. Cardinal Dolan wants to go back to the days when the Church treated its members as children who need to be told how they are going to fast, abstain or practice acts of penance. US Catholics do not need their Cardinal to tell them when to abstain from meat; they are quite capable of deciding how and when they will abstain. Is the Cardinal going to suggest that a Catholic who observes a "meatless Monday" instead of abstaining on Friday is going to face eternal damnation?

It appears Cardinal Dolan and many other bishops of his ilk  are choosing to take the Catholic Church back to the Middle Ages when bishops were royalty and the people in the pews were their serfs.

Perhaps it is because of this autocratic and condescending attitude that a majority of American Catholics, 25% of the electorate, chose President Obama over the bishop's choice in the 2012 presidential election  (Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, CNN)

P.S. And I am a  big fan of a  Friday Fish Fry.