Bishop Grants Dispensation on St. Patrick's Day

DECREE OF DISPENSATION FROM THE REQUIREMENT TO

ABSTAIN FROM MEAT ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY (FRIDAY. MARCH 17. 2023)

At the Diocese of Las Vegas Presbyteral Council meeting of February 6, 2023, it had been expressed that it would be pastorally helpful to have a more general Dispensation than what had been published in our Lenten Practices Memorandum regarding the faithful of the Diocese of Las Vegas from the requirement to abstain from meat on Friday, March 17, 2023, the Commemoration of Saint Patrick.

To that end, I offer the following Decree:

In accord with the immemorial practice of the Church, the Code of Canon Law, and the directives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, all Catholics who have completed their fourteenth year are required to abstain from meat on the Fridays of Lent. This rule can be dispensed in cases of certain medical conditions, or in very unusual situations. Nonetheless, the season of Lent calls us to practice penance in various forms, to pray, and to be particularly mindful of the needs of the poor.

Respecting the long-standing tradition of celebrating the Commemoration of Saint Patrick, and after prayerful consideration and appropriate consultation, I, George Leo Thomas, the third Bishop of the Diocese of Las Vegas, grant a Dispensation from the requirement to abstain from meat on Friday, March 17, 2023, for the faithful of the Diocese of Las Vegas, mindful of the following considerations:

1. Everyone is encouraged to observe general moderation in food and drink during the entire season of Lent; and

2. Those who choose to eat meat on Saint Patrick's Day are encouraged to abstain from meat on another day of Lent that is not a Friday or to observe another equally penitential practice.

Given at Las Vegas on the 22nd Day of February, in the Year of Our Lord 2023.

Most Revered George Leo Thomas

Bishop of Las Vegas

Most Reverend Gregory W. Gordon

Vicar General (Ecclesiastical Notary)


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