Statement on the dispensation from abstaining from meat on Fridays for the remainder of Lent 2020

Bishop James F. Checchio has granted a dispensation from abstaining from meat on Fridays for the rest of Lent, except Good Friday which is universal law and a day of fasting and abstaining from meat, so Bishops do not have the authority to dispense. He gave the dispensation based on the difficulties of obtaining some types of food by some of our faithful and the many other sacrifices which all of us are suddenly experiencing given the coronavirus. As Catholics, we are called to care for our brothers and sisters, and so now, more than ever, Bishop Checchio encourages the faithful to reach out and consider the needs of their neighbor. As individuals, as a local Church, as a nation and as a universal family, we did not know what sacrifices this Lent would bring as we began it this year. Bishop Checchio asks that everyone please pray for one another and continue to care for their neighbor, both physically and spiritually, even if that requires some additional different sacrifices from us. We pray that through these sacrifices, the joys of Easter will likewise be heightened for us too!