“We want the Pirates properly, and we can be rooting for them with all of Pittsburgh. However we additionally want to carry to the precedence significance of Good Friday,” the diocese said in a statement. “It’s a vital a part of essentially the most sacred time of 12 months for all Christians. Nothing ought to take priority.”
Whereas the dilemma of whether or not to chow down on a meaty snack applies to all Catholics on Friday, it’s notably urgent for these going to an MLB dwelling opener, which one particular person jokingly told the Pittsburgh diocese is the TRUE “most sacred time of the 12 months.”
No less than eight groups throughout the nation, starting from the Los Angeles Angels to the New York Mets, are slated to play their first dwelling video games Friday. Among the Catholic dioceses in these areas echoed Pittsburgh’s meat ban.
Good Friday is a somber event for Catholics, who along with skipping meat are imagined to eat just one full meal and two smaller meals on that day and different Fridays in Lent. This 12 months, many dioceses granted an exception for the Friday of St. Patrick’s Day so observers might eat the standard corned beef and shepherd’s pie. And a number of other dioceses waived the no-meat-on-Fridays requirement altogether in 2020, saying the coronavirus pandemic had already pressured sufficient sacrifice.
No such exceptions seem to have been made for Friday’s baseball video games. After the Pittsburgh diocese shared its stance, folks jokingly replied that the Pirates’ abysmal report lately ought to fulfill the Lenten requirement to replicate on struggling. Final 12 months, the crew went 62-100.
“Being a Pirates fan my entire life has been sacrifice sufficient,” one particular person wrote to the diocese. “I’m consuming a sizzling canine on the ballpark Friday.”
“God disowned the Pirates 30 years in the past,” another person tweeted. “It’s all good.”
Cleveland-area Catholics are equally out of luck. Whereas the Cleveland Guardians will play their first dwelling recreation of the season in opposition to the Seattle Mariners on Friday, Catholic officers there stated they might not make an exception to the mandate to abstain from meat.
Nancy Fishburn, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Cleveland, stated she would attend the sport anyway — and take a look at her first vegan sizzling canine.
“Nonetheless debating on whether or not so as to add the vegan chili,” she stated, “since it is going to be my ‘meal’ of the day.”
The Guardians’ stadium deliberate forward to supply different meatless choices. A consultant for Progressive Subject stated fish sandwiches could be out there at its burger stand.
The Diocese of Brooklyn, the place the New York Mets will play the Miami Marlins on Friday, and the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the place the San Francisco Giants will face off in opposition to the Kansas Metropolis Royals, additionally stated the requirement to keep away from meat nonetheless applies.
Fortunately for observant Catholics, Oracle Park in San Francisco could have loads of meatless choices to select from. Shana Daum, a spokeswoman for the Giants, stated garlic fries, crab sandwiches and ice cream sundaes are already a number of the stadium’s hottest meals selections.
Plus, she stated, the advanced now presents crab fries.
