杏MAP导航

By Isabella H. de Carvalho

The Bishop of San Bernardino, California, Bishop Alberto Rojas, issued a on July 8, 2025, dispensing immigrant faithful from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass until further notice, in light of the “genuine fear” of potential immigration enforcement actions. 

“There is a real fear gripping many in our parish communities that if they venture out into any kind of public setting, they will be arrested by immigration officers. Sadly, that includes attending Mass,” Bishop Rojas said in a media statement accompanying the decree released on July 10. “I want our immigrant communities to know that their Church stands with them and walks with them through this trying time.” 

On June 20, diocesan officials stated ICE agents entered two Catholic parish properties in Montclair and Highland, and detained multiple people in the parking lot of St. Adelaide Church in Highland, California.

The director of communications for the Diocese of San Bernardino, John Andrews, said at the time that one male parishioner was taken into custody, adding the others detained were neither parishioners nor worked for the parishes.

These events have “only intensified” the fear of many migrant faithful, the Bishop explained in his recent message. He had already written a on June 23 in which he asked “political leaders and decision-makers to “reconsider and cease” immediately these tactics, in favor of an approach that “respects human rights and human dignity." 

People contributing to well-being of wider community 

“The immigrant communities that I speak of are all those peoples who have been in this country for years with no other issues than their legal status, who have contributed to the well-being of the larger community,” Bishop Rojas continued in his July 10 message. “Most of them are here because they wanted to save their families; they had no other option. I believe that they would love to be legalized, but who can help them?”

Acknowledging that the fear of immigration enforcement actions “such as raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)” could be a “grave inconvenience” and may impede the “spiritual good of the faithful,” Bishop Rojas's decree encourages those who are unable to attend Mass to “maintain their spiritual communion with Christ and His Church” in other forms.

He suggested “personal prayer, reading of Sacred Scripture,” praying the Rosary, or watching Mass livestreamed on TV or online. 

Pastors should provide 'compassionate support'

The Bishop of San Bernardino, the sixth-largest Catholic diocese in the United States, emphasized that his decree seeks to alleviate the “burden” people may feel due to not being able to fulfill the Catholic obligation of Sunday Mass, considering “all the worry and anxiety” these individuals are experiencing.

Bishop Rojas also underlined in the decree that pastors and other Church members “are to provide compassionate support to those affected” and ensure “that they feel welcomed and safe in communities.”

Parishes in the Diocese of San Bernardino, he said, are encouraged to explore alternative options to make catechesis and sacramental preparation available for those unable to attend regularly.