All articles tagged with #dispensation
Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, has granted a temporary dispensation from attending Mass to individuals who fear detention due to increased immigration enforcement, encouraging spiritual practices and pastoral care during this period until January 11, 2026, amidst community anxiety and fears.
The Diocese of San Bernardino has issued a dispensation allowing Catholics who fear ICE raids to skip Mass, citing increased immigration enforcement and detentions on church property, and marking the first such official exemption in the U.S.
Attendees of a church fundraiser have been granted dispensation to eat corned beef on St. Patrick's Day, despite it being a Friday during Lent when Catholics are traditionally required to abstain from meat.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has granted a dispensation to Catholics allowing them to eat meat on St. Patrick's Day, which falls on a Friday during Lent, a day when Catholics are not supposed to eat meat. However, Catholics are encouraged to give up something else. All of New Jersey's dioceses are also making the exception.
Bishop Edward C. Malesic of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland has granted a dispensation from the obligation to abstain from meat on St. Patrick's Day, which falls on a Friday during Lent. However, he asks those who exercise this dispensation to select another non-Friday day during Lent to abstain from eating meat or to make some offering on behalf of the poor. On the other hand, Malesic said that Catholics attending the Cleveland Guardian's home opener on Good Friday cannot be granted a dispensation to the practice of abstaining from meat as it is a day of reflection, fasting, prayer, and penance.
Most Catholic dioceses in the US, including those in New York and New Jersey, are granting a special dispensation allowing parishioners to eat meat on St. Patrick's Day, which falls on a Friday during Lent. While 80 dioceses are offering a straight dispensation, 25 are offering a "commutation" that requires Catholics to substitute another penance if they plan to eat meat that Friday, and 32 are staying with the original requirement to abstain from meat on Fridays.
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston has granted a dispensation for local Catholics to eat meat on St. Patrick's Day, which falls on a Friday during Lent, a period when Catholics traditionally abstain from eating meat on Fridays. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo encourages those who make use of the dispensation to do an extra act of charity or penance in exchange for eating meat on that day. St. Patrick's Day is a cultural and religious holiday held each year on March 17 in honor of the patron Saint of Ireland.