Evening journal., 1911-08-03
FEWER HOLY DAYS
FOR THE CHURCH
Number Of FeaStS Of PreCept
Hereafter Will be Eight,
Exclusive Of Sundays

A recent DEGREES of Pope Plus X has
reduced the number of holy days to
eight besides Sundays, for the Cath
olics Of the world. The decree pa r
ticularly affects Ireland Scotland
and England, and viii free Catholics
in those countries from the obliga-
ton Of attending mass on St. Patrick's
Day, st. Andrews Day, the Annuncia-
ton, commonly called Lady Day."
and the feast OF Corpus Christi.
The decree reads;
"The ecclesiastical precept Of hear
ing Holy Mass and Of abstaining from
servile work remains in force only for
the following days: All and every
Sunday, the Feast OF the Nativity of
the Circumcision, of the Epiphany
and OF the Ascension OF our Lord
Jesus Christ, Of the Immaculate Con-
ception and of the Assumption Of
Blessed Mary. Mother of God; Of the
Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and
finally Of All Saints"
The feast Of the Immaculate Con-
ception, which occurs on the Sth of
December. is the patronal feast Of the
Catholic Church In the United States.
The decree reads I'm another para
graph:
IF in any place any one Of the
feasts indicated has been legitimate
ly abolished or transferred. let moth
ing be done without consultation with
the Apostolic See. But II in any ma
ton or region the Bishops deem It
right to preserve any one OF the
feasts abrogated, let them refer It to
the Holy See"
Two Of the eight feasts retained by
the decree of the Pope had already
been abolished as holy days of obli-
cation In the United States, namely,
the feasts Of the Epiphany and SITS.
Peter and Paul, so that only six
feasts are observed IN addition to
Sundays. This status is TO stand.
The Pope advances as the reason for
his action the increased cost of living
and the loss of business and misery
to Catholics caused in various coun-
tries by the obligation to hear Mass
and abstain from manual labor on SO
many holy days, and in referring 70
this matter the Pope says;
THE Roman Pontiffs supreme GUS
todians and moderators Of ecclesiasti-
cal discipline,s have always been ac-
customed to benignantly relax this
laws Of the Sacred Canons as often as
the good of the Christian people coun-
seled IT, We also as we have before
now, considered 1t wise that other mat
ters should be changed, on account OF
the changed conditions of the times
and of civil society, so likewise at the
present time we think II our duty, con-
sidering the special circumstances ci
our age, to introduce some opportune
notifications In the ecclesiastical Law
as to the observance Of feast days oi
precept.
For men now traverse with marvel
Gus rapidity the greatest distances b.
land and sea, and through wider faciii
ties find reader access TO those ma
tions where the number Of feast day
of precept are less. Also increased
commerce and the additional demandI
of business seem to suffer loss from
the delays caused by frequent feas
days. Finally. the increased cost Of the
necessities of life makes IL ADDITIONAL.
desirable that the servile work Of those
who gain their living by labor may no
be too often interrupted
For such reasons repeated peti
tions, particularly in these later times
have been made to the Holy See tha
the number of feast days of precept b.
diminished
Having all these things present il
our mind. il has seemed to us, wh'
have at heart the well-being of the
Christian people, a counsel in the
highest degree opportune to diminisl
the number of feast days declared by
the church to be of precept."