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“The display should be removed, and the manger restored to its proper sacred purpose,” the Archdiocese of Boston said in a statement.
The Archdiocese of Boston reportedly slammed the Nativity scene at a Dedham church that replaced Jesus, Mary, and Joseph with a sign that said “ICE was here” to protest federal immigration action.
“The people of God have the right to expect that, when they come to church, they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship —-not divisive political messaging,” the Archdiocese said in a statement to CBS News. “The display should be removed, and the manger restored to its proper sacred purpose.”
St. Susanna Parish in Dedham first drew attention last week for its Nativity scene. Father Stephen Josoma said at the time that it’s a church tradition to use the Nativity scene to “hold the mirror up to what’s happening, and this year, it seemed to be, my God, it seemed to be right there in front of us.”
The Archdiocese of Boston said the church did not request or receive permission from the Archdiocese to “place a politically divisive display outside the church,” the statement said.
“The Church’s norms prohibit the use of sacred objects for any purpose other than the devotion of God’s people. This includes images of the Christ Child in the manger, which are to be used solely to foster faith and devotion,” the statement said, per CBS. “Regarding the recent incident, St. Susanna Parish neither requested nor received permission from the Archdiocese to depart from this canonical norm.”
Critics accuse church of ‘politicizing Christmas,’ but congregation is supportive
Previously, St. Susanna Parish has highlighted national and global issues with its Nativity scene, including gun violence and mass shootings and climate change. In 2018, the St. Susanna Parish attracted national attention with their Nativity scene depicting baby Jesus in a cage and the wise men behind a wall, Josoma previously told Boston.com.
Josoma did not respond to a request for comment about the Archdiocese’s reaction. He told CBS that the scene will be discussed in a regularly scheduled Sunday meeting.
C.J. Doyle, the executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, called Josoma a “publicity seeking, dissident priest” and the Nativity scene’s “ICE was here” sign his “juvenile antics.”
“What we have here is a case of a dissident priest who has a long history of these crackpot publicity stunts. He is politicizing Christmas,” Doyle said. “Instead of focusing on Jesus Christ, Father Josoma is, as usual, making it about himself and his progressivist politics. It is inappropriate, sacrilegious, divisive and disrespectful.”
During an interview last week, Josoma said his parish is “very supportive” of the display. While there’s outrage over a previous Nativity scene showing Jesus in a cage, Josoma said, “we put human beings in cages.”
“It’s religious art. All art is supposed to move you,” Josoma said last week. “They hate to face that because it’s the reality, so they attack you for using religion in a sacreligious way, which I find kind of amusing.”
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