Sign of the Times: Diocese of San Bernardino issues dispensation saying Catholics who fear ICE don’t have to attend Mass

NPR reports that the Diocese of San Bernardino in Southern California is the first diocese in the U.S. to formally lift the obligation for Catholics to attend Mass due to concerns over immigration enforcement operations:  

“Catholics are usually obligated to go to Mass on Sundays and other holy days. But Bishop Alberto Rojas has paused that requirement in San Bernardino for people who may fear immigration raids.

The San Bernardino diocese told the National Catholic Reporter that immigration agents carried out detentions on two of its properties in June.

In a letter to his diocese after the detentions, Rojas said such actions are “creating a tremendous amount of fear, confusion and anxiety.”

KJ