All good Catholics know that in a typical year there are as many as 58 holy days of obligation – each weekly Sunday and the feast days of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on January 1, the Ascension of the Lord, falling on May 29; the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, falling on August 15; All Saints, falling on November 1; the Immaculate Conception, falling on December 8; and Christmas, December 25.
As a general rule, Catholics are commanded by their faith to attend Mass – the Catholic church service – every Sunday and on the feast days, unless the feast day falls on a Saturday or Monday, meaning at least 54 days out of the year. Unless a Catholic is prevented by sufficient reasons such as illness or caring for infants, the elderly or the infirm, missing Mass deliberately on a Holy Day of Obligation is considered a mortal sin, one so serious that unless the sacrament of penance and reconciliation intervenes before a Catholic’s death, he or she is bound to life forever in Hell in the afterlife, according to Catholic theology.
In a significant and controversial move, Bishop Alberto Rojas, who oversees the Diocese of San Bernardino, has suspended, for those Catholic parishioners within the jurisdiction he oversees, Canon 1247, pertaining to the requirement that Mass be attended on holy days of obligation due to ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. Rojas’s concern is that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have taken stock of the fact that many undocumented immigrants are Catholic and that they can conduct raids at churches and in their parking lots on Sundays, rounding up dozens or scores of those in the country illegally.
The Donald Trump Administration is currently carrying out Operation Alta California, which has the goal of arresting up to 2.2 million illegal aliens currently in California and deport them. An estimated 62 percent of those being targeted for removal from California are Mexican citizens.
Bishop Rojas put out two statements, one in an open letter to Catholics residing in the San Bernardino Diocese titled Bishop Alberto Rojas’ Message to the Faithful Amid Immigration Raids which was mounted on the diocese website on Wednesday, July 10, which followed in the wake of a Decree Dispensing From The Obligation To Attend Sunday Mass made the previous day.
The website posting attributed to Bishop Rojas addressed “the very painful and challenging topic of immigration,” stating, “We have seen a change and an increase in immigration enforcement in our region and specifically in our diocese. Authorities are now seizing brothers and sisters indiscriminately, without respect for their right to due process and their dignity as children of God. I say once again to our immigrant communities who are bearing the trauma and injustice of these tactics that your Church walks with you and supports you. We join you in carrying this very difficult cross. While we surely respect and appreciate the right of law enforcement to keep our communities safe from violent criminals, we are now seeing agents detain people as they leave their homes, in their places of work and other randomly chosen public settings. We have experienced at least one case of ICE agents entering a parish property and seizing several people. It should be no surprise that this is creating a tremendous amount of fear, confusion and anxiety for many. It is not of the Gospel of Jesus Christ – which guides us in all that we do. I ask all political leaders and decision-makers to please reconsider and cease these tactics immediately, in favor of an approach that respects human rights and human dignity and builds toward a more lasting, comprehensive reform of our immigration system. Many are taking to the streets to voice their opposition to the current immigration enforcement tactics. It is their Constitutional right to do this, and I call on all protestors to act without vulgarity, violence toward others, or destruction of property. The tension around this issue has been further heightened by the decision to deploy federal National Guard troops and military personnel to the sites of these protests. At this point, this seems only to increase the level of anger and fear of violence in the streets. Our late Holy Father, +Pope Francis, once told me that his greatest fear was division. Indeed, it is painful to see such division amongst God’s people at this moment. This is not what He wants for us. Let us instead remember what we all share – our creation in His image and likeness. Let us look for God in one another.”
Bishop Alberto Rojas’ Message to the Faithful Amid Immigration Raids was accompanied by the decree, the preamble for which read “In light of the pastoral needs of our diocese and the concerns expressed by many of our brothers and sisters regarding fears of attending Mass due to potential immigration enforcement actions by civil authorities, I, as your shepherd, issue this decree in accordance with my authority under the Code of Canon Law, particularly Canon 87 § 1, which states: ‘A diocesan bishop, whenever he judges that it contributes to their spiritual good, is able to dispense the faithful from universal and particular disciplinary laws issued for his territory or his subjects by the supreme authority of the Church.’ Recognizing that fear of immigration enforcement, such as raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), may deter some members of our diocese from fulfilling the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation (cf. Canon 1247), and acknowledging that such fear constitutes a grave inconvenience that may impede the spiritual good of the faithful, I hereby decree the following:
Dispensation from the Obligation to Attend Mass: All members of the faithful in the Diocese of San Bernardino who, due to genuine fear of immigration enforcement actions, are unable to attend Sunday Mass or Masses on holy days of obligation are dispensed from this obligation, as provided for in Canon 1247, until such time as this decree is revoked or amended.”
Further down in the body of the decree, Rojas laid out for the diocese’s parishioners “alternative spiritual practices. Those dispensed from attending Mass are encouraged to maintain their spiritual communion with Christ and His Church through acts of personal prayer, reading of Sacred Scripture, or participation in devotions such as the Rosary or the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Where possible, the faithful may also participate in televised or online Masses offered by the diocese or other reputable Catholic sources.”
Bishop Rojas’ action instantaneously provoked both praise and condemnation.
Those who believe that the rights of foreigners to cross the United States’ borders with impunity trump the U.S. government’s authority to maintain border security and that aliens should be able to take up residence and remain in the country without adhering to U.S. Immigration law perceive Bishop Rojas as a courageous champion of the people who is willing to stand up in defense of the weak and disenfranchised against the overwhelming power of an autocratic government.
The special dispensation decree was signed by both Bishop Rojas and the diocese’s vicar general, Monsignor Gerard Lopez.
Federal officials labeled accusations that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are effectuating arrests of illegal aliens on church grounds as a “total fabrication.”
According to Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, two incidents on June 20 involving illegal aliens in San Bernardino County, one at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Montclair and another at St. Adelaide Church in Highland came about when undocumented foreigners, who were being pursued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel fled to those churches.
In Montclair, according to McLaughlin, a parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes Church was driving in his personal vehicle when Immigration and Customs officers attempted to make a traffic stop in Montclair. The man pulled into the parking lot of Our Lady of Lourdes Church. He was arrested as he emerged from the vehicle. The pursuit originated off church grounds, McLaughlin insisted.
In Highland, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were chasing several men when they dashed onto the grounds of St. Adelaide Church. The officers followed the men onto the church property. They were detained there.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Holman on Thursday said it is “absolutely incorrect” that his agency is carrying out operations on church property.
-Mark Gutglueck