IT’S a year ago today the UKÂ – at a cost to taxpayers of millions – welcomed Pope Ratzinger to Britain’s shores.
Today I learned that, to mark the first anniversary of that ludicrously overpriced junket, the Catholic Church in England and Wales has decided to revive an old rule relating to the eating of meat of Fridays.
Don’t do it, is the basic message.
Mmmmmm .... meat. But not for Catholics on a Friday
According to this BBC report, bishops say Friday should be a day of penitence as it is the day on which Christ is said to have died.
And they say Friday penance will be “a clear and distinctive mark” of Catholic identity and an act of common worship.
In a statement issued earlier this month, the bishops said it was important that followers of the Church were united in a common, identifiable act of Friday penance because:
The virtue of penitence is best acquired as part of a common resolve and common witness.
Those who cannot or already choose not to eat meat as part of their daily diet are being asked to abstain from some other food or activity.
A spokesman told the BBC’s John McManus that abstaining from meat wasn’t compulsory, only “commendable”.
Those aged under 14, the sick, elderly, pregnant women, seafarers, manual workers or others in situations where there are moral or physical reasons for eating meat are excused from abstaining.
The practice of not eating from meat on Fridays is centuries-old, but in 1985 the Catholic Church in England and Wales allowed Catholics to substitute another form of penance in its place.
The Bishops’ Conference has published questions and answers on Friday penance on its website.
Other breaking Catholic news: On September 8 we reported that atheists in Australian had has expressed some some reservations regarding the appointment of a Catholic priest to head the country’s national Mental Health Commission.
We now learn that Monsignor David Cappo has decided not to take up the position after being accused of failing to properly investigate rape claims against a priest.
Monsignor David Cappo’s appointment had been questioned by independent senator Nick Xenophon, who used parliamentary privilege to suggest he failed to investigate in a timely manner sex abuse allegations in the Catholic Church in South Australia.
Monsignor Cappo says he emphatically rejects any suggestion that he did not handle the abuse allegations with proper or due diligence.
But he says the matter has the potential to distract from his appointment to the Mental Health Commission and that he cannot allow that to occur.
Monsignor Cappo has also resigned as deputy chair of the Australian Social Inclusion Board.
Hat tip: BarrieJohn and Bill Murray (Oz report)
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
September 16th, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Why is a Catholic monsignor on a Social Inclusion board anyway? It’s like a Monty Python sketch.
As for the red meat on Friday thing, it seemed no one I knew when I was young could keep it straight just what was and was not permissible and when. Some thought it was every Friday still, some thought it was only good Friday, some thought it was meat alone, some thought it was meat and alcohol, some thought it was a time to have ‘simple meals’… it’s a mess, and a bit of an odd thing to request to begin with. Would Jesus really feel honoured by people choosing not to eat a burger one day a week?
September 16th, 2011 at 5:55 pm
Burger me!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worl.....tims-abuse
September 16th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
Aren’t catholics supposed to eat fish on fridays anyway? When I was a child I only got fish on fridays and I hate fish.
Was being force-fed fish my penance for doing something wrong?
September 16th, 2011 at 6:05 pm
Bugger, looks like the fish and chip shops will be sold out on Fridays again.
September 16th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Would it not be cool if the church reserved a day for “reason and rational thought.”
Perhaps Wednesday could be designated “thought day” and day on which believers must actually rationalize what they do with there lives and all the time they waste with superstitious nonsense.
They could ponder why they are not busy thinking up cures for cancer or ways to which to alleviate homeless and poverty or even sort out the current financial ills we face.
But they would rather, it seems, not eat meat on a particular day because it is supposed to reveres some man who fucked up his life 2000 years ago enough to warrant being nailed to a cross to die…..why would you “worship” such a man.
I would much rather worship those who died on the beaches on June 6, 1944.
September 16th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
Surely they should simply be required to eat meat?
September 16th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Thank god im an atheist! I cant even be bothered to observe a speed limit, why would anyone observe such dogma.
September 16th, 2011 at 6:46 pm
The thing that gets me about some of the rules that religions have is that they are so utterly pointless. They do have rules that make good moral sense, that do have the potential to make the world better. But these are more than offset by this obsession with worthless trivia. I was looking through a pile of old Freethinkers the other day and one editorial was about Muslims fretting about the fact that alcohol was used in the manufacture of Walkers crisps and the problem of said crisps being Halal or Harim. There are sound reasons for abstaining from alcohol, it is relatively harmless or even beneficial in moderation. On the other hand, for some it is addictive and excessive drinking causes serious health problems. Non of this is justification for not eating crisps.
September 16th, 2011 at 7:28 pm
I seem to remember from a Medieval History class that the ban on eating meat on Friday originally was promulgated because Italian city-states were becoming so prosperous that they were eating meat all the time, and were no longer eating as much fish, which was considered a less desirable food. A group of fishermen petitioned the pope to do something to save their livelihood, and the requirement that everyone eat meat on Friday was a “penance” that the pope cooked up to help them out.
September 16th, 2011 at 7:29 pm
This is interesting to me. I was under the impression that the entire Catholic world observed the same “fasts”. I put “fasts” in quotation marks, because I don’t feel like simply switching from meat to wonderful fish, is really to be considered fasting – it’s more like feasting.
Catholics in at least my area of the US observe the “Friday rule”. Local restaurants even run seafood specials on Fridays. Why did I assume it would be the same everywhere?
I would expect a god to be consistent with his feast/fast rules, if nothing else.
September 16th, 2011 at 7:58 pm
barriejohn
As ever, what an excellent link.
Victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have accused the pope, the Vatican secretary of state and two other high-ranking Holy See officials of crimes against humanity, in a formal complaint to the international criminal court (ICC).
Wow – what incredible implications that could have! Can you imagine the Poop being tried for crimes against humanity? Bring it on!!!
As for fish on Fridays – oh, will you morons please grow up! It’s every bit a ‘wear-it-on-your-sleeve’ sign of iron-age tribalism as circumcision. And it has no place whatsoever in the 21st century.
September 16th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
I’d rather they made it “Don’t Rape a Child Day”.
Oh, and don’t forget to march in London tomorrow:
http://secular-europe-campaign.org/march-rally/
September 16th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
…..Friday penance will be “a clear and distinctive mark†of Catholic identity and an act of common worship……
What!?!?!?
I thought the clear and distinctive mark of Catholic identity was that they believed in cannibalism? Or do other xtian cults do it too?
September 16th, 2011 at 9:48 pm
So, this post isn’t really about meat? It’s about having another rant about sex abuse scandals in the Catholic church?
http://deanroberts.net
September 16th, 2011 at 10:44 pm
Yeah, back under the bridge, Dean, trippety trip.
September 16th, 2011 at 10:45 pm
Oh, hello again, Dean.
I know, I know. When will we atheists ever shut up about those tiresome sex abuse scandals? All that bothersome nonsense is so yesterday, isn’t it? Best to just leave it where the church wants it – brushed up under the carpet and forgotten about.
Well, sorry if it’s an inconvenience to keep ‘ranting’ about the fact that the RCC has an appalling history of hiding and defending paedophile monsters, intimidating its victims into silence and then trying to deny anything happened. But hey, those priests did what they did, and the church continues to do what it does. Fact.
And anyway, rather than trying to be clever (again) and having a pop at people who are sick to their hind teeth of religiots like yourself who think that anything can be excused in the name of religion, maybe you should be asking yourself why you would want to publicly defend paedophiles, or have anything to do with a church that is so tarnished, so discredited and so utterly shameless in its denial of the truth.
Over to you, Dean.
September 16th, 2011 at 10:48 pm
I was wondering: does Dean Roberts have a website at all? If so, perhaps some kind reader of this blog would oblige us all by posting the link. Thanks in advance!
September 16th, 2011 at 11:01 pm
You know, the people on Friendly Atheist are a lot nicer to converse with than on here.
And, barriejohn, it’s a signature that automatically appears on my comments.
http://deanroberts.net
September 16th, 2011 at 11:25 pm
Dean, if you want a ‘nice conversation’, then why do you come here making provocative statements?
Grow up, son. If you insist on posting inane comments you have to expect that they will be challenged.
(BTW, I don’t see any of your comments on the Friendly Atheist site. Are you sure you have actually made any?)
September 16th, 2011 at 11:57 pm
Don’t encourage the troll!
September 17th, 2011 at 12:01 am
barriejohn
You old killjoy, you!
September 17th, 2011 at 12:04 am
From a health point of view, eating fish at least once a week is a good idea. I have latched on to Fridays as it’s easily remembered and I am certainly not going to stop just because it happens also to be a Catholic practice.
September 17th, 2011 at 12:08 am
AgentCormac:
Dean Roberts = Order Absent
September 17th, 2011 at 12:25 am
What sort of meat do priests eat on Fridays?
Nun.
(yeah, I know, somewhat inaccurate)
September 17th, 2011 at 2:12 am
Dean Roberts – your signature automatically appears on the bottom of your posts? You did nothing to make this happen? How did this blog know what your web site is? That is clever.
*suspects you put your URL in the “website” box under the “name” and “email” boxes*
September 17th, 2011 at 2:16 am
It just shows how random and pointless these directives from the church are. You must give up meat on Fridays. But…
“Those who cannot or already choose not to eat meat as part of their daily diet are being asked to abstain from some other food or activity.”
So, it’s not really about the meat at all, just about making the sheep give up something they like, so they can show their power over you.
Of course we all know the catholics of this country (and most other developed countries) will mostly ignore this directive, like they do most of the other directives their church issues.
September 17th, 2011 at 2:32 am
Do the Roman catholics have teams of men (would have to be men) in white coats in a laboratory buried somewhere under the vatican? They must have commmittees tasked with making up silly nonsense rules for something to do. I ‘spose they could wait for their god fantasy to make a noise, but it will be a long wait, so let’s make up some silly rules.
September 17th, 2011 at 3:20 am
I went to a public high school in a predominantly Catholic area, and the school cafeteria served fish every Friday. I detest the stench of cooking fish, so it was like being punished every week, even though I wasn’t Catholic (my family was, though). When the Church stopped the no-meat-on-Fridays rule, I was delighted, but most Catholics that I knew kept right on not eating meat on Fridays, even though the Pope said it was okay to eat meat, and they kept right on serving only fish on Fridays in the cafeteria. Talk about frustrating! I am now a vegetarian, so I guess that means I’m super-penitent, right? LOL!
September 17th, 2011 at 7:11 am
I had Anglican friends – highly intelligent people as well – who didn’t eat sweets or chocolate throughout Lent. I nearly fell off my chair when they first told me that!
September 17th, 2011 at 7:44 am
It’s got bugger-all to do with penance, and everything to do with shared-identity. “Us civilised folk do this inexplicable thing so that we can identify the uncivilised rabble by the fact that they don’t do it.” Tribal minds, the lot of ’em.
September 17th, 2011 at 9:59 am
You may disagree with the trappings but the idea has some merit. Likewise having an alcohol-free week per month or a time of fasting. These events shake you out of your ordinary workaday behaviour and can help you take a new look at things in your life. Some – eg eating fish – have demonstrable health benefits.
Just because the church says something does not automatically make it false. That’s the ad hominem fallacy. Life is not that simple.
September 17th, 2011 at 10:05 am
Dean Roberts,
By placing a link to your website at the bottom of your blog, do you honestly think, for one second, you will get a convert from this site?
Silly boy.
September 17th, 2011 at 10:47 am
ISTR that once upon a time (maybe even now?) some animals became “honorary fish” on a Friday, because they lived in or near water or looked “fishy”. Can anyone remind me what they were? Oh, and thank goodness there’s a ban on whaling – I’m sure there’d have been a good market for whale meat on Fridays otherwise.
September 17th, 2011 at 10:50 am
Dean. You know, the people on Friendly Atheist are a lot nicer to converse with than on here.
I wonder why that is? If only there were some kind of clue in the title!
September 17th, 2011 at 10:51 am
Surely that’s the wrong way round – it’s saying false things that makes it a church!
September 17th, 2011 at 10:54 am
Brian Jordan. Perhaps you’re thinking of frabbits…
http://www.foodreference.com/html/frabbit.html
September 17th, 2011 at 10:59 am
Dean Knobhead’s pathetic remark reminded me of Tommy Cooper’s gag:
I told the doctor that I’d broken my arm in three places. He said: “Don’t go to those places”!
September 17th, 2011 at 11:10 am
barriejohn.
deanroberts.net = Tense retard. Nob
September 17th, 2011 at 11:15 am
Don’t: you’ll hurt his feelings!
September 17th, 2011 at 12:12 pm
Dean Roberts: Try the Raving Atheist Site for really strong meat, including on Fridays. The clues really are in the titles “Friendly” and “Raving.” As well as “Freethinker.”
September 17th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
@ Brian Jordan – my dad said that goose was considered to be fish because it was believed to grow from goose barnacles. Not quite “honorary fish” but it always seemed a blatant self-serving lie to me as it is obvious to anyone who has anything to do with birds that they hatch from eggs. However, I suspect that goose is just too delicious for the clergy to resist.
It always seems that when god speaks direct to people, he wants them to do what they want to do anyway. It’s only when god speaks through one person to tell others what to do that there is any sacrifice required.
September 17th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
The mind it boggeleth! Still, if you believe insects have four legs and pi=3.0000… Or were they just – heaven forfend – being hypocritical?
September 17th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Us chickens. You’d expect a god to “speak” to us atheists as we are always demanding evidence of his/her/its existence and laughing at his followers. Interesting how gawd only speaks to the mentally challenged, rather like aliens only abduct and then return to earth, retards.
If I heard voices in my head I’d get medical help.
September 17th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Thanks for the comments.
Though they undermine your intelligence.
http://deanroberts.net
September 17th, 2011 at 2:09 pm
Thanks for the comments.
Though they undermine your intelligence.
How?
September 17th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
DickheadDean has a comments section of his webshite that let’s you post without moderation.http://deanroberts.net/2011/09.....uld-it-be/
Oh joy!
September 17th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Well you’re wrong there, remigius
http://deanroberts.net
September 17th, 2011 at 2:55 pm
Regiums, my comment is now awaiting moderation. I think you hurt the poor wee lamb’s feelings.
edit: Oops, scratch that. Just got the verification email.
Dean Roberts: Your name is already a link. Adding another at the bottom of every comment [i] is redundant, [ii] makes you look like a blog-whore, and [iii] is, frankly, bloody annoying.
September 17th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Sorry Daz. I meant without moderation in a Bob Hutton sense, ie you can actually comment!
September 17th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
Just had to repeat this here. Here’s Dean:
Unlike the Bible which is chock-full of peer-reviewed studies, citations and hard evidence.
September 17th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
… and you can insult him too. I seem to have got away with monkeyboy. Gonna try to gradually work my way up to fuckwit.
He’s probably just lonely and really needs someone to talk to.
September 17th, 2011 at 4:05 pm
How can he be lonely? He has
the voice in his headGod to talk to.September 17th, 2011 at 5:37 pm
Nah, leave him to it. He’s trolling on here, why return the favour?
September 17th, 2011 at 5:38 pm
Dean Roberts
September 17th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Thanks for the comments.
Though they undermine your intelligence.
http://deanroberts.net
Whereas nothing could get under your intelligence.
September 17th, 2011 at 6:25 pm
I had a brief look at some of Dean Robert’s comments on his site. What a sad case this man presents. Conjuring up religious drivel and then coming here to preach and castigate us. He seems a lonely and immature man who is desperate for some kind of response. Even that of atheists.
He fits the religious pattern: fantasy prefered to reality; desperate to fight off life as it is and replace it with his fairy tale god, devoid of reason and scared of what he may find if he had the courage to face his doubts. What a pitiful speciman of humanity. Wake up, Dean. Grab life, realise the cosmos is indifferent to you or anyone else and make the best of it.
Meanwhile, I’m off to the pub for a couple of pints and a game of darts.
September 17th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
This reminds me. I knew a Pole vegetarian who converted to Orthodoxy and had to take up eating fish on Friday because it was part of their belief system as indicated by their church.
September 17th, 2011 at 7:28 pm
I have to give credit where it is due.
At least Dean’s website has better graphics than the woeful, and self pitying, Bob Huttons.
Same shit message though!
September 18th, 2011 at 7:12 am
@Brian Jordan
Otter was treated as an honorary fish, along with goose. Impressive peasant logic there. Which goes to show that if you inflict bollocks rules on people, they’ll think up bollocks evasions to get around them while still observing the letter of the law. In much the same way that ultra-orthodox Jews beg their secular brethren to switch their lights on for them on Shabbat, and abstinent American teens have learned to enjoy it up the chuff.
September 18th, 2011 at 11:04 am
abstinent American teens have learned to enjoy it up the chuff.
also, anecdotally, randy muslim kids…
And catholics count saturday night as being sunday, for church attendance purposes…
I love the way human beings triumph where they can…
September 18th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
Brian Jordan
September 17th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Perhaps you’re thinking of frabbits…
http://www.foodreference.com/html/frabbit.html
The mind it boggeleth! Still, if you believe insects have four legs and pi=3.0000… Or were they just – heaven forfend – being hypocritical?
Why is it when I hear this that I think of apartheid South Africa and Japanese people being “honorary” whites?
September 19th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
So, not content with over-populating the world with people, the Catholic Church has now decided to de-populate the oceans of fish.
September 19th, 2011 at 6:04 pm
As I have said, they just make it up as they go along. Who ever wrote that the whole not eating meat on Friday was created by the church to throw some business to the fisherman is correct. Nothing to do with the word of god but a financial decision that was lobbied for by a specific group intended to bring them wealth, that I’m sure they kicked back to the church in way of donations. It is always about money for the church. Maybe the Gorden’s Fisherman Corp kicked in some cash for them to revive the rule.
Why start this crap all over again when our oceans are overfished as it is, is beyond me! So this must be about control, a way one can prove their faith. Just a bunch of old guys in funny costumes sitting in a room trimmed with gold, thinking about what silly things they can get their pet monkeys to do for kicks. And as usual the church shows no regard to science or our effects on this planet.
As for lent…I remember those days as I always gave up my favorite candy (Chocolate) for 40 days. Than pigged out on it Easter Sunday. When a bit older I said screw it and gave up doing homework on the weekend during lent. My sister said, “you must give up something you love for lent and I know you do not love doing homework!†My reply was, “True, but I love homework over the weekend since I have the extra days to do it in…so technically I’m good…NOW, excuse me while I head to the candy store to buy some Chocolate…I need my fix!â€