SAN BERNARDINO, CA – In light of the Trump administration’s efforts to tackle the issue of illegal immigration in a serious manner, a bishop in San Bernardino, California, reportedly declared Catholics need not attend Sunday services due to concerns over immigration raids.
On July 8th, San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas revealed a controversial decree inspired by ongoing efforts to deport illegal aliens across the country, declaring Catholics who harbor “genuine fear of immigration enforcement” are excused from attending mass.
“All members or 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,” read the statement from Bishop Rojas.
Bishop Rojas attributed the inspiration of the decree to falling in accordance with the mission of the church, adding, “In issuing this decree, I am guided by the Church’s mission to care for the spiritual welfare of all entrusted to my care, particularly those who face fear or hardship.”
For the sake of context, decrees of this nature are typically utilized in times natural disasters, pandemic pathogens, and even wars.
However, excusing Catholics from mass in light of ongoing law enforcement operations – particularly in the United States – is largely unheard of prior to the current administration.
Furthermore, the intentions behind the aforementioned decree can reasonably be digested as a tacit endorsement of illegal immigration.
The timing of the decree coincides with an immigration enforcement operation conducted one day earlier on July 7th at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, which said operation wound up inadvertently summoning Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who made a spectacle of herself at the scene.
Governor Gavin Newsom also weighed in on the decree issued by Bishop Rojas, leaving zero ambiguity with regard to the motivations behind the church’s announcement.
Taking to social media, Governor Newsom wrote, “Freedom of religion? Not in Donald Trump’s America. People now have to choose between their faith and their freedom.”
In response, a White House spokesperson highlighted the irony of Governor Newsom invoking the concept of freedom of religion, reminding Governor Newsom and the broader public that he’d opted to bar churchgoers from attending mass during the pandemic years earlier.
“This is rich coming from Gavin Newsom who shuttered churches during the COVID-19 pandemic but reopened the movie industry, marijuana dispensaries, and other secular gathering places. Religious Americans were locked out of their places of worship because of him. Newscum doesn’t care about religious liberty, he cares about flip-flopping around to try and exploit everything he can for perceived political gain,” a statement from the White House read.
This decree issued by Bishop Rojas isn’t the first of its kind with respect to the Trump administration, with the Diocese of Nashville having put forth a synonymous decree in May which read, “no Catholic is obligated to attend Mass on Sunday if doing so puts their safety at risk.”
On July 8th, San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas revealed a controversial decree inspired by ongoing efforts to deport illegal aliens across the country, declaring Catholics who harbor “genuine fear of immigration enforcement” are excused from attending mass.
“All members or 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,” read the statement from Bishop Rojas.
Bishop Rojas attributed the inspiration of the decree to falling in accordance with the mission of the church, adding, “In issuing this decree, I am guided by the Church’s mission to care for the spiritual welfare of all entrusted to my care, particularly those who face fear or hardship.”
For the sake of context, decrees of this nature are typically utilized in times natural disasters, pandemic pathogens, and even wars.
However, excusing Catholics from mass in light of ongoing law enforcement operations – particularly in the United States – is largely unheard of prior to the current administration.
Furthermore, the intentions behind the aforementioned decree can reasonably be digested as a tacit endorsement of illegal immigration.
The timing of the decree coincides with an immigration enforcement operation conducted one day earlier on July 7th at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, which said operation wound up inadvertently summoning Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who made a spectacle of herself at the scene.
Governor Gavin Newsom also weighed in on the decree issued by Bishop Rojas, leaving zero ambiguity with regard to the motivations behind the church’s announcement.
Taking to social media, Governor Newsom wrote, “Freedom of religion? Not in Donald Trump’s America. People now have to choose between their faith and their freedom.”
In response, a White House spokesperson highlighted the irony of Governor Newsom invoking the concept of freedom of religion, reminding Governor Newsom and the broader public that he’d opted to bar churchgoers from attending mass during the pandemic years earlier.
“This is rich coming from Gavin Newsom who shuttered churches during the COVID-19 pandemic but reopened the movie industry, marijuana dispensaries, and other secular gathering places. Religious Americans were locked out of their places of worship because of him. Newscum doesn’t care about religious liberty, he cares about flip-flopping around to try and exploit everything he can for perceived political gain,” a statement from the White House read.
This decree issued by Bishop Rojas isn’t the first of its kind with respect to the Trump administration, with the Diocese of Nashville having put forth a synonymous decree in May which read, “no Catholic is obligated to attend Mass on Sunday if doing so puts their safety at risk.”
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Comments
2025-07-13T18:00-0400 | Comment by: Dona
Oh great - now the Catholic church is aiding and abetting lawlessness - I am a taxpayer, and I am pissed! I am tired of supporting welfare when I myself have a lifelong disability but refused to play 'victscum'.