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A Catholic Church in Dedham, MA, has defied criticism from the federal government and the Boston Catholic Archdiocese. It stuck to its compassionate guns and kept its pro-immigrant Nativity display front and center. The NY Times reported the details of the Church’s “offense.”
The display, outside St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, Mass., includes the traditional shepherds, sheep and wise men gathered around a hay-filled manger. But Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus are missing, replaced by a sign reading “ICE WAS HERE” in bold blue letters.
“The Holy Family is safe in the Sanctuary of our Church,” adds a smaller note inside the Nativity scene, which is protected by a plastic shield. “If you see ICE please call LUCE.” The display includes a phone number for LUCE, an immigrant advocacy group, which tracks the activity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Massachusetts.
ICE reacts
ICE’s reaction was predictable. Todd Lyons, the agency’s acting director, told The Boston Herald that the Nativity scene was “absolutely abhorrent” and part of “a dangerous narrative” responsible for a sharp increase in assaults on ICE officers.
Codswallop, Todd. If ICE has faced increased hostility, it has been almost entirely nonviolent. And it has been engendered by the government’s arbitrary, cavalier, and capricious campaign against brown people. A campaign that the Trump administration falsely advertised as being focused on violent criminals, drug dealers, and gang bangers.
If you harass people who are here legally or who are following the rules to become here legally or are just here doing the jobs Americans won’t, then you should expect decent and compassionate people to make their views on your prevaricating depravity known — even if it hurts your feelings and makes the boss mad.
The local Archdiocese ignores Jesus and senior Church management
It’s Trump’s administration, so readers will be neither surprised nor shocked at the defensive finger-pointing by Party functionaries. On the other hand, the archdiocese’s reaction is disappointing. The NY Times added:
“Last week, the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston told the parish to take down the signage in its Nativity display. In a statement, archdiocesan leaders said that churchgoers “have the right to expect that they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship — not divisive political messaging.”
That statement also cited church norms prohibiting “the use of sacred objects for any purpose other than the devotion of God’s people.”
The Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is being disingenuous. Jesus was a political actor. He took on the religious and political authorities of his time. How do we know? The authorities had him killed for his actions. It didn’t help that Jesus was a supporter of “the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,” which included the “stranger” who was “not invited in.”
The archdiocese is also wallowing in hypocrisy. The Catholic Church has been vocal and public on its abortion stance. And there is no issue more political than that. The two major congressional Parties have made their position on reproductive choice central to their messaging. And the Church has picked sides.
Worse, the local Catholic authorities are acting in discord with their own governing body. One month ago, in a rare and nearly unanimous missive from U.S. Catholic bishops, senior Catholic management condemned the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign.
The November statement from the bishops said.
“We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care. We lament that some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status.”
I’ll grant you that any large organization can lack coordination through the ranks. However, rather than go off half cocked, the archdiocese could have checked in with national management to coordinate the organization’s response to ICE. Maybe even give the Vatican a call for advice.
St. Susanna twists in the wind and finds allies
The local church has been left hanging by this mixed messaging. Speaking to reporters on Monday, the Rev. Stephen Josoma said the display was intended to “evoke dialogue,” not cause a furor. He said parish leaders would confer with archdiocesan leaders before making a final decision on its fate. But, he added, “that some do not agree with our display does not render it sacrilegious.”
St Susanna is not alone. The creche at a church in Evanston, Ill., includes a baby Jesus figure with his hands bound by zip ties. And in another Nativity scene near Chicago, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus are missing, with a sign telling viewers that “Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding.”
Good for them. Whether the reader is Christian, other, or not religious, we can all agree that every human being should be accorded respect and shielded from violence.
Last word from Rev. Michael Woolf
'We know that Jesus was born into a Roman imperial occupation, and pretty much immediately becomes a refugee in Egypt, has to flee, and faces political violence.'
A political refugee founded Christianity. Some Christians honor that. Others vote for MAGA.
