March 17, 2023

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - Today is Saint Patrick’s Day. As of yesterday, 72.6% of dioceses in the United States are offering some relief from the no-meat-on-Fridays-during-Lent rule for Saint Patrick’s Day. 93 diocesan bishops are providing a dispensation with no strings attached — although many of those bishops suggest extra prayers or spiritual exercises or abstaining from meat on another day. Thirty-four diocesan bishops said yes but gave additional conditions, requiring a substitute through what canon law calls a ‘commutation’ of the requirement, such as attending Mass on Saint Patrick’s Day, saying the Breastplate of Saint Patrick prayer, praying the rosary, abstaining from meat another day, or helping the poor. Also in the yes-but category is the Archdiocese for the US Military Services, which is requiring abstinence from meat on another day the same week as Saint Patrick’s Day for those planning to eat meat on Friday, March 17. Forty-six diocesan bishops, or 26.3% of the dioceses, have said no to a general dispensation or commutation for all Catholics in the diocese, although many of those say they would grant individual dispensations upon request. For a complete map showing where Catholics are allowed to eat meat this Saint Patrick’s Day, visit catholicnewsagency.com. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253789/where-are-catholics-allowed-to-eat-corned-beef-on-st-patricks-day-this-lent Catholic bishops in the United Kingdom said a new law criminalizing prayer and outreach outside abortion clinics in England and Wales discriminates against people of faith. Britain’s House of Commons approved legislation on March 7 to create “buffer zones” across the country, which strictly bans behavior that “interferes with any person’s decision to access, provide, or facilitate the provision of abortion services” around abortio