Some years ago this was a mortal sin now it isnt :-O

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fabio_rocha

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My parish priest once told me that the Church some years ago considered it was a mortal sin to eat meat on Fridays and now it is not… How something sinful becomes sinless?
 
No, it’s not that the action of “eating meat” went from ‘sinful’ to ‘sinless’. Friday abstinence from meat used to be required of all Catholics. The grave sin proceeded from the failure to adhere to the requirement that the Church laid down, not from anything inherent in Fridays or meat. Once the requirement was taken away, eating meat on Fridays was no longer a matter of grave sin.

Disobeying the Church is still grave matter, of course. In this one particular discipline, though, there’s no longer the issue of disobedience through Friday trips to McDonalds… 😉
 
fabio_rocha said:
My parish priest once told me that the Church some years ago considered it was a mortal sin to eat meat on Fridays and now it is not… How something sinful becomes sinless?
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Abstaining from meat was a discipline of the Church, and disciplines can be changed.

Then, disobedience to the discipline of abstinence was sinful. Now, abstinence is not required, so there is no longer disobedience or sin.
 
Like the above posters stated, the “mortal sin” part of eating meat on Fridays was that the Church required it, so it would be disobedience.

The disobedience is where the mortal sin comes in, not in eating meat.
 
fabio_rocha said:
My parish priest once told me that the Church some years ago considered it was a mortal sin to eat meat on Fridays and now it is not… How something sinful becomes sinless?
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Look at it this way:
Supposing a country passes a law banning the drinking of alcohol; it becomes a crime to drink. If the law makers then decide that it was better to allow drinking in moderation and they amend the law or abolish it altogether, then drinking is no longer a crime.
 
Nor was it a mortal sin, since it lacks being grave matter.

There might be certain conditions where some sort of intentional and willful disobedience might change that, but in general…
 
CM,

That may not be true. The current discipline of abstaining from meat on Fridays in Lent currently “binds gravely.”

jimmyakin.com/2004/04/meat_on_lenten_.html

I don’t know for sure, but I imagine the discipline may have bound gravely when it included more Fridays.
 
Yes, all this is true. Does anyone remember in which year this was changed? 🤷
 
Geo17 said:
Yes, all this is true. Does anyone remember in which year this was changed? 🤷
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I believe this was something that came out of Vatican II. I was born in the early 60’s and never had to abstain every Friday, only during Lent.
 
Well, it was a sin of disobedience, but someone might have forgotten about not eating meat. Or maybe they needed to eat meat for some health reason.

I think the purpose of the Friday abstinence was self-denial to bring oneself closer to God. If one cannot abstain from meat for whatever reason, choose something else. Maybe eat something you don’t like. Drink water instead of your beverage of choice. Don’t use salt. Etc., etc.
 
We are still to abstain from something on Friday, it just does not have to be meat. I always abstain from meat, easier to remember, my small sacrifice in remembrance of Our Lord.

Sure someone will post that has the exact wording and can quote it. Unfortunately, I cannot.
 
I was told by my parish priest that the requirement to abstain from meat on Fridays (except if it was a feast day) had never changed. What changed was that eating meat on a Friday was called a sin and not a mortal sin.
From catholic-pages.com/life/fridaymeat.asp[/QUO
Most Catholics think that Vatican II did away with the requirement of not eating meat on any Friday of the year. Most think it is now just Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent that we cannot eat meat.
This is what the new Code of Canon Law brought out in 1983 says about the matter:
Canon 1251
Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
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Canon Law still requires that Catholics not eat meat on Fridays!
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Of course, most Episcopal Conferences have determined that, instead of abstaining from meat, Catholics may perform an act of penance of their choosing. But, do you ever remember to abstain from a particular food or do some other penance on Fridays? And, at any rate, the main rule is still to abstain from meat on Fridays, the performance of another penance instead is an optional alternative.
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I must admit that as a revert, I didn’t know that things hadn’t changed until the UK church issued a reminder and now I stick to it. Okay, there has been the odd lapse but instead of having to confess it, I firmly give myself a suitable penance.
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I’m always glad when this topic come up.

The Church didn’t do away with anything when it comes to abstinence on Fridays.

What the Church did was make the abstinence one of our own choosing, due to different life styles, health reasons, etc.

Friday is still a day of Abstinence, commanded by the Church on all the Faithful. It is much easier to remember abstinence from meat unless there is some reason to substitute it with something more appropriate. 👍
 
fabio_rocha said:
My parish priest once told me that the Church some years ago considered it was a mortal sin to eat meat on Fridays and now it is not… How something sinful becomes sinless?
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That is a very wrong interpretation of what is sin and what isn’t.

Catholics are bound to accept and obbey what the Church decides to impose on it’s members trusting that what it decides is for our own good.

There are Moral Laws that will never change, they either come down from what God placed in the human conscience or has directly revealed to us through the Prophets, Jesus or His Apostles.
Then there are Disciplines, This are Laws that the Church can modify when circumstances so require.

Eating meat on Fridays falls under this category.
For much of human history meat was very much a steeple of the diet and was consumed daily.
In modern society this has changed, what was once a “penance” albeit to improve our life has ceased to be so.
Abstaining from meat in a family that maybe consumes meat once a week, you will agree that the “imposition” of not eating it on Fridays makes little sense.
Also to be noted is that each Bishop has the authority to keep the Friday’s meat abstinence, since there are regions of the world where meat still is a fundamental part of the daily diet.

In closing, the “SIN” is disobbeying the Church’s laws and disciplines. Any of them.
The Church can change what disciples to modify when the culture changes in the way it behaves. With the proviso that in no way the Church will change the teachings that affect our core moral values.
Abortion for example, was carried out in antiquity and was considered inmoral and although it has now been reintroduced in modern society, it will continue to be considered inmoral today, tomorrow and forever.

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AmbroseSJ said:
Friday is still a day of Abstinence, commanded by the Church on all the Faithful. It is much easier to remember abstinence from meat unless there is some reason to substitute it with something more appropriate. 👍
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I don’t think Fridays are still a day of abstinence, but a day of penance. We may choose to abstain from something, but we may also do some other act of penance. Such as an extra Rosary, or Scripture reading, or even a good deed.
 
Indyann said:
I don’t think Fridays are still a day of abstinence, but a day of penance. We may choose to abstain from something, but we may also do some other act of penance. Such as an extra Rosary, or Scripture reading, or even a good deed.
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According to Canon Law, All Fridays are a day of Abstinence throughout the Church. However local Bishops conferences can mitigate the discipline. For example in the US, the USCCB has allowed some other form of penance to be substituted for abstinence from meat. IOW, abstinence from meat is still required, but can be susbstituted with another form of penance. Translation: US Catholics must still abstain from meat on all Fridays, unless they have substituted some other penance in its place.

Too many Catholics believe it was done away with, Fridays are just like any other day now. That is NOT the case.
 
Is there any reason behind Friday? Sorry, I am new, but listening intently.
 
Darryl_B said:
Is there any reason behind Friday? Sorry, I am new, but listening intently.
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Ahh I believe it is a remnant of our Jewish roots.

Friday is the day before the Sabbath doing penance to appear worthy to the Lord when they would go worship Him in the Sinagogue.
I may be wrong on this, just my guess.

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JerryZ said:
Ahh I believe it is a remnant of our Jewish roots.

Friday is the day before the Sabbath doing penance to appear worthy to the Lord when they would go worship Him in the Synagogue.
I may be wrong on this, just my guess.

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Thanks JerryZ that actually makes a lot of sense.
 
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