Did the second Vatican do away with eating fish/meat on fridays?

[St_Violet]

it doesn't really bother me that Catholics eat meat or fish on fridays, Food is Food. But there are catholics who believe that the Second Vatican council did away with it, and now my history is a bit shakin, so I figured I'd come in here and asked. I've also read that in History somewhere that the Pope made this a law which is probably still binding today, because Italy's fishing industry was going down hill, and urged the people not to eat fish on fridays to give the fish economy a boost( correct me if I am wrong), which I believe was a good call. and I also want to ask how many Catholics here eat fish/meat on fridays

[Della]

Firstly, no, Vatican II did not do away with no meat on Fridays as the general penance. It merely stated that other forms of penance may be done if abstaining from meat is not really a penance (my very broad paraphrase from memory). Sadly, this was lost on many people who do no penance at all, which is not what was intended.

And the story about the fish industry needing a boost is absolute nonsense. It never happened. No more than chicken farmers needed to sell more eggs which is why eggs are allowed or cheese sellers needed to sell more cheese. LOL!

[Nick]

Catholics are not allowed to eat meat on Fridays during Lent. For outside of Lent in the United States see: More On Friday Penance by Jimmy Akin.

[LilyM]

I love the story about the Pope supposedly having a fisherman brother-in-law ... cept it has one simple flaw. Not eating meat doesn't automatically mean you eat fish! If said Pope had REALLY wanted to boost the fishing industry he'd have made the eating of fish compulsory!

[tee_eff_em]

Originally Posted by St_Violet

( correct me if I am wrong),

You are wrong. Or at least: No one has yet proved you right. cf. So which Pope owned the fishery? What are the origins of meat abstinence? and probably others.

Anyway, not Vatican II per se, but the Apostolic Constitution Paenitemini shortly afterward granted to the bishops' conferences the faculties to regulate penitential fasting and abstinence, currently codified in Canon Law.

Can. 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.

PS.
NB that since today is Friday celebrating the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, meat abstinence is not required.

tee
Had chili for lunch

[Genesis315]

It makes sense to me that the local bishops should regulate it--since in some countries they rarely eat meat anyway and in others they are so well-off they can just substitute some non-pentitential meatless dish. That being said, I do wish our conference was a little more strict--of course, one can always do as much penance as necssary, they just give the bare minimums.

[tee_eff_em]

Originally Posted by tee_eff_em

PS.
NB that since today is Friday celebrating the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, meat abstinence is not required.

tee
Had chili for lunch

Mmmmm.... And a pork chop for dinner....

[chevalier]

Can. 1250 The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.
Can. 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.

No meat on Friday unless your Conference of Bishops allows. The American one did, some others did not.

[Joe Kelley]

Note that most of the Post VII changes were not envisaged in the VII documents, but got blamed on VII.

[BelFarfalla]

Here is an interesting web site on the topic.

Friday Abstinence

http://www.secondexodus.com/html/cat...abstinence.htm