A Catholic bishop in California has issued a rare decree allowing parishioners to miss Mass due to fears of raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Bishop Alberto Rojas of the Diocese of San Bernardino wrote that “such fear constitutes a grave inconvenience that may impede the spiritual good of the faithful.”
Catholic bishops have occasionally granted Mass exemptions during natural disasters, war or societal events such as the Covid-19 pandemic. But this appears to be the first time a bishop has invoked such a decree over immigration enforcement.
“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,” Rojas wrote in the decree released Tuesday.
The exemption is a remarkable step for Rojas to take because observant Catholics are required to attend Sunday Mass and certain holy days of obligation, such as All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 and Christmas on Dec. 25.
Failure to attend Mass “unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor” is a mortal sin, according to the Roman Catholic Catechism.
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TAKE ACTION: Contact Bishop Rojas at info@sbdiocese.org or 909.475.5300 and let him know what you think.
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