While doing research for my previous post, Requiescat in Pace, Pope Francis, I figured that I would check on the very lovely Amanda Marcotte, a loudly self-proclaimed atheist, to see what drivel she had written. As it happens, at least as of 8:00 PM on Easter Monday, our fanatic (neveau) Philadelphian hadn’t written about the Holy Father’s passing, but in a slightly older, April 18th article, I found this commenter on religion having said this:
Do Catholics really fast on Fridays during Lent, I had to wonder.
One thing is certain: she didn’t wonder enough to actually check it out!
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.
For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards.
So, no, we don’t “fast on Fridays during Lent”. We abstain from meat on those Fridays, but the discipline of fasting as well is not imposed, save on Good Friday as well as Ash Wednesday. One would think that a (purportedly) serious writer would have looked it up; Google is both free and our friend.
Miss Marcotte ‘wondered’ about something she didn’t actually know, though her “vague memories growing up in a heavily Catholic part of the country involve people eating a lot of fish at dinner.” Yup, fish is not included in the abstinence requirement, though I will confess that even today I wonder why not. As it happens, I love most fish, and my wife cooks it wonderfully. I do wish that our parish was large enough to support a fish fry on Fridays, as some larger parishes can. But really, how can a (semi) famous (supposedly) professional writer not look up something so simple?