Meat abstinence on all Fridays of the year (excepting solemnities, i.e. "high feast days") is and has been the universal law of the Western Catholic Church for

Meat abstinence on all Fridays of the year (excepting solemnities, i.e. "high feast days") is and has been the universal law of the Western Catholic Church for centuries; the Eastern Church/es have their own disciplines, which some times and in some ways overlap with the Western ones. Following the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), local councils of bishops received the authority to determine if/how some universal laws would be adapted in their jurisdictions. In the United States and some other territories, the obligation of law for meat abstinence on Fridays outside of Lent was effectively relaxed – one is supposed to do some kind of penitential act on Fridays, but it doesn't necessarily have to be meat abstinence. The effect, though, has been to demolish among the general Catholic populace any sense of the need for the regular exercise (e.g. weekly) of ascetical practices, as an important aspect of Christian discipleship. That's why the "old rules" are starting to come back around in some territories, though church-law hasn't changed in the United States yet. The point of abstinence (of any kind, e.g. from a favorite food or Facebook or whatever) and fasting (a related discipline) is to practice "ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart." (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church #2043)[+] [+] http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s1c3a3.htm#2043 http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s1c3a3.htm#2043