Boston Area Catholic Church Displays Anti-ICE Nativity Scene

A Catholic church in the Boston area has boldly displayed a Nativity scene to commemorate the Holiday season, and to send a message to the Trump administration that there’s nothing Christian about its war on migrants. The display outside St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, Mass., replaces the depictions of Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus with a sign that reads, “ICE was here,” angering not just MAGA supporters everywhere, but also the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, which has directed the church to remove the display.

Well, according to the New York Times, the church has responded, and the answer is no — it will not remove the Nativity scene or its message.

From the Times:

“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 began a major immigration enforcement campaign in the Boston area in September, the forefront of a wave of similar efforts in other major cities.

Speaking to reporters late Monday outside the brick church, the Rev. Stephen Josoma said the intent of the display was to “evoke dialogue,” not cause a furor. He said parish leaders would confer with leaders of the archdiocese before making a final decision on its fate.

But, he added, “that some do not agree with our display does not render it sacrilegious.”

Last week, the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston told the parish to take down the display, arguing in a statement that churchgoers “have the right to expect that they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship — not divisive political messaging.” Mind you, just last month, America’s Roman Catholic bishops, in a nearly unanimous statement, publicly condemned the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda, which the Times noted was a “rare” move that the archdiocese voiced no concern over.

Still, the Boston archdiocese insists that St. Susanna is breaking from Catholic church standards, which it said prohibit “the use of sacred objects for any purpose other than the devotion of God’s people.”

I mean — are immigrants not God’s people?

“We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants,” the statement read. “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.”

Showing “concern” for a thing doesn’t mean much if one is not actively fighting for the people they’re supposedly concerned about.

Look, anyone can purport to be serving their lord and savior by showing up to church to pray every week, but that’s not an action that, in and of itself, protects actual people who need protecting. It’s not like one can pray a detainee out of an ICE facility.

Speaking of ICE — they’re mad, too.

Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, told the Boston Herald that the Nativity scene was “absolutely abhorrent” and part of “a dangerous narrative” that is already responsible for attacks on ICE agents across the nation — attacks that the Trump administration has also said are happening, but can never seem to produce evidence of, which is why federal judges keep telling agents and DHS officials they don’t believe them.

Speaking of the Herald, the outlet published an op-ed piece by a conservative columnist who insists, “Christmas mangers should bring joy, not debate.”

Yes, the church should decline to use its space to speak up for ICE detainees and their family members — who are likely experiencing a much more trying a traumatizing Holiday season than most — because it might get in the way the “joy” of people who just want to decorate their Christmas trees and watch Charlie Brown’s Christmas special in peace.

It’s worth noting that, when it comes to pissing off MAGA America, this isn’t St. Susanna’s first rodeo, and it’s not the only church that has made similar statements.

More from the Times:

The display at St. Susanna, on a busy street in a well-off suburb south of Boston, is the latest in a series of nontraditional Nativity scenes staged by the parish. A version in 2018 sparked similar controversy for depicting the infant Jesus in a cage, a scene church leaders said was a reflection on immigration policy at that time. A year later, the parish focused on climate change, showing some of the figures partly submerged in water.

Other politically themed Nativity scenes have popped up around the country this Christmas season, including one at a church in Evanston, Ill., that includes a baby Jesus figure with his hands bound by zip ties. 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.”

Clearly, these churches have decided it’s more important to be on the right side of history than to appease Christians during Christmas. And if you don’t feel the same way, then, honestly, how godly are you?

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