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Catholic bishops grant St. Patrick's Day waiver to eat corned beef on a Lent Friday

Posted at 3:57 PM, Mar 13, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-14 12:01:26-04

Good news for the corned beef fans who observe Lent but who are also looking to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with some tradition.

Roman Catholic bishops across Upstate New York have exempted Friday, March 17 from the no-meat-Fridays practice that takes place during Lent to enjoy the traditional Irish-American meal of corned beef and cabbage.

The bishops still expressed the importance of abstaining from meat during this time, encouraging Catholics to go without meat on a different day.

"In honor of the upcoming feast of St. Patrick on Friday, March 17, Bishop Richard J. Malone hereby grants a commutation of abstinence to all Catholics in the Buffalo Diocese," said the Diocese of Buffalo. "Bishop Malone does not grand dispensations from abstinence, but rather commutations. A commutation means that the obligation to abstain from meat must be fulfilled on another date of the individual's choosing preferably during the same week. This call to abstinence on the Fridays of Lent is a centuries-old custom intended to help Christians honor Christ's redemptive death on Good Friday."