Is there any truth to the story about how eating Fish on Fridays was meant to help out the failing fishing industry during the Middle Ages?
Short answer: No. I wish I had the proverbial nickel for every time I’ve heard this- or some other version -of this mythical story. One of the more popular versions has this event taking place sometime during the middle ages. Another version adds to it that the pope did it- not to help the [Italian] fishing industry -but to help out a relative who was in the fishing business. And there are a few other- less repeated -versions as well. That fact that there are so many versions of this tale ought to tell us right away that something smells very “fishy” about these stories. (Sorry, I just couldn’t pass that one up!) In the first place, Catholics should be made aware that there was NEVER an injunction or obligation placed upon Catholics by the pope- or anyone else -to eat fish on Fridays; rather, the rule was to abstain from meat (at times “meat” was extended to include meat-related foods such as eggs, milk, and cheese). In short, Catholics are not now- nor have they ever been -required to
