California Bishop dispenses migrants from Mass obligation due to raid fears

The Bishop of San Bernardino, California, Bishop Alberto Rojas, issued a decree 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 letter on June 23 in which he asked “political leaders and decision-makers to “reconsider and cease” immediately these tactics, in favour of an approach that “respects human rights and human dignity.”
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 fulfil 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.”