It couldn\u2019t be going wurst for Catholic Sox fans during the team\u2019s rotten first week.<\/p>\n
Catholic members of Red Sox Nation heading to Fenway Park on Good Friday will have to wait \u2019til next year for home opener Fenway Franks and sausages.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the message from the Archdiocese of Boston \u2014 which is not granting a special dispensation for Catholics to eat meat at the ballpark on one of the holiest days of the Christian calendar.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo dispensation tomorrow,\u201d a spokesperson for the Archdiocese told the Herald ahead of Friday\u2019s home opener.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood Friday is one of the holiest and somber days in the Church and it is an opportunity for Catholics for reflection, fasting, prayer, and penance,\u201d the Archdiocese spokesperson added.<\/p>\n
Many Catholics abide by the church\u2019s ban against eating meat on Good Friday during Lent \u2014 the 40-day period leading up to Easter.<\/p>\n
Back in April of 2004, the Archdiocese of Boston rejected requests from Catholics seeking a waiver from the no-meat rule for Opening Day on Good Friday.<\/p>\n
In 1995 and 2000, Cardinal Bernard Law allowed local Catholics to eat meat when St. Patrick\u2019s Day fell on a Friday during Lent.<\/p>\n
Also three years ago, Cardinal Sean O\u2019Malley granted the same special one-day dispensation for meat on a Friday St. Patrick\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, the Feast of St. Patrick, the patron saint of our Archdiocese, falls on a Friday during Lent,\u201d the Archdiocese posted in 2023. \u201cGiven the importance of this feast in the life of the Archdiocese and in the lives of many Catholics, Cardinal Sean is granting a dispensation from the Friday Lenten abstinence on March 17, 2023, to those who wish to take advantage of this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sox face the San Diego Padres at 2 p.m. on Friday.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Archbishop Richard Henning \u201creminded the faithful that Holy Week invites us to bring our brokenness to Christ, who renews us in His love.\u201d<\/p>\n