More Catholic than... Mahony?

By Leila Marie Lawler ( articles ) | Feb 10, 2005

I don't know if Cardinal Mahony has the authority to change the observance of Ash Wednesday to another day, even with the conflict of the Chinese New Year. But he did.

Nevertheless, some folks do put their religion first, despite his best efforts:

Mary Kay Yu of Camarillo, a Catholic whose husband, George, is chairman of the Ventura County Chinese-American Historical Society, said she couldn't remember another year in which the holidays fell on the same day.

"This year really presented a conflict," Yu said Tuesday.

She said Mahony's decision didn't help her or her family because they already intended to celebrate Chinese New Year on Saturday.

She said she planned to observe Ash Wednesday today [Feb 9].