If different Orthodox jurisdictions have variations in their fasting rules, why is it inconsistent for Rome to allow variations within her own jurisdictions? Do our own jurisdictional discrepencies mean that we are not Catholic?
Well the problem is that fasting is a tradition that had been spayed and neutered in the west. It wasnt really a case of freedom, its more like an abolishment.
Right, the abolishment of fasting rules was obviously a case of top-down autocracy. I was simply criticizing the comment implying that catholicity means an intolerance of any pluralism.
And in Orthodoxy, we see diversity in unity where there are different chants, different languages, and different calendars of saints. We see unity in the things that are essential, and fasting is very essential to help us to say "no" to sin.
Rome only went to the vernacular worldwide after Vatican II. Before Vatican II, during World War II Germany was experimenting with the vernacular as approved by the local Bishops there. However, before WW I, Mass in the vernacular was almost unheard of.
However, within Catholicism (from my own experience in Los Angeles), if a member dared to fast (even secretly) and was observed eating freshly caught and cooked fish at a coastal restaurant, they were accused of being "holier than the Pope." So, yes, more lenient fasting rules were pushed from the top down after Vatican II. Dominican Tertiaries still fasted and abstained on Wednesdays and Fridays after Vatican II, but they were still criticized.