To many, St. Patty's day means green beer and corned beef and cabbage…but, wait a minute! What about all those Irish-Catholics? This is Lent — eating meat on Friday is a sin! This could be a problem.

But, not to fear, Bishops around the country are rising to the occasion and standing up in favor of debauchery in honor of St. Patrick:

The connection between Ireland and corned beef dates to colonial times in Boston, when meat was imported from Ireland and preserved in salt, said Kevin O'Neill, history professor in the Irish Studies program at Boston College. The result — corned beef — was associated with Ireland.
While eating meat on a Friday in Lent isn't considered a mortal sin — the gravest category — it does take a dispensation for the church to lift the rule. At least 67 of the country's nearly 200 dioceses provide such dispensations, said Rocco Palmo, a Catholic commentator who has been keeping an informal count on his blog "Whispers in the Loggia."

Here's the link to the blog mentioned.

Good freaking thing Lent doesn't screw with alcohol. One is tempted to say "Thank God".

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